Apple (AAPL) Rated Hold by Loop Capital Amid Tariff and iPhone 17 Buzz

We recently published a list of 10 AI Stocks on Wall Street’s Radar. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stands against other AI stocks on Wall Street’s radar.

On May 28, Loop Capital analyst Ananda Baruah reiterated a “Hold” rating on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and $215.00 price target. Apple is a technology company known for its consumer electronics, particularly the iPhones and MacBooks.

According to the firm, tariff-driven shifts in production and pricing may support near-term iPhone performance. The firm’s supply chain analyst has found that Apple has increased average selling prices (ASPs) for the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max by $100 to $200.

A wide view of an Apple store, showing the range of products the company offers.

“Ironically, there is a world where AAPL’s ‘tariff actions’ of pulling phones forward into the Mar Q and Jun Q provide a much-needed bridge into the iPhone 17 launch.”

Firm checks have also shown that Apple has raised its shipment forecast for the iPhone 17 in the September and December quarters to 100 million units, up from the previous 92 million. Loop said that expected shipments of the new iPhone 17 Air model have risen by 15 million units to 31 million.

Even though the tariffs are said to pressure margins, the firm said that “if tariffs aren’t shockingly onerous investors could look through them if there is legitimate iPhone 17 and iPhone 18 form factor excitement.”

That said, it is expected that both models are likely to feature significant hardware design changes in years. The firm has also highlighted Apple’s evolving AI strategy separately:

“Our work suggests that AAPL’s latest Siri kerfuffle may be compelling a bit of a strategy shift internally and that AAPL is in the process of placing orders for ~$1.0B of GB300 NVL72s,” the

Overall, AAPL ranks 4th on our list of AI stocks on Wall Street’s radar. While we acknowledge the potential of AAPL as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AAPL and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.