1 day Ago
Apple looks slightly more attractive now that smartphones have been exempt from President Donald Trump's sweeping U.S. tariffs, according to KeyBanc Capital Markets.
Analyst Brandon Nispel upgraded Apple to sector weight from underweight and kept his $170 price target on the stock, after lowering it just last week. That target implies a 14.2% decrease from Apple's latest close.
Nispel thinks Trump's new guidance removes meaningful risks the iPhone maker was facing when investors were bracing for an escalating global trade war and further retaliation from China. Trump's latest announcement erased the added tariffs of 145% on several electronics devices and components made in China, which is responsible for the majority of Apple's manufacturing. "Late Friday's announcement of exception from tariffs on smartphones is probably the best case scenario we can think of for AAPL, which makes it unlikely that our prior downside PT would be achieved, and takes a big risk off the table," analyst Brandon Nispel wrote in a Sunday note to clients.
"With the worst case scenario of continuing 'tit-for-tat' trade war escalation likely no longer in play and the exception on smartphones from tariffs, we find it difficult to argue for further downside." Tariff-related risks have led the stock to lose more than 10.5% this month amid a period of rocky trading.
Shares jumped 4.8% in premarket trading Monday, however, as investors piled back in after Trump's latest reprieve. AAPL 1Y mountain Apple stock performance.
Still, Nispel said that Apple is not fully "out of the woods" just yet. According to the analyst, consensus growth expectations remain too high going into fiscal year 2026 and there is a consumer spending pullback likely to happen. Apple is also facing risks from the ongoing Google antitrust lawsuit by the Department of Justice, with Google potentially impacting Apple's services business, and continues to face questioning about its artificial intelligence strategy as compared to its competitors, Nispel said.
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