John Ternus has officially taken over as CEO of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), succeeding Tim Cook after his successful 15-year run. With Apple’s next major iPhone launch scheduled for September 9, it seems the new CEO has only eight days till his first big test.
On September 1, Rosenblatt analyst Barton Crockett raised the price target on Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) to $303.00 (from $300.00) while maintaining a Neutral rating on the stock. The price target hike implies roughly 4% downside from current levels.
What Rosenblatt is Watching
Rosenblatt’s note assumes successful navigation of supply chain constraints under the new CEO. Price hikes and premium priced products, in particular, are likely to offset margin pressure.
Ternus’s test isn’t that Apple can generate cash. The tech giant is already strong, with Cook having transformed the company from a $350 billion company to a $4.5 trillion behemoth. His test is instead to prove that there is enough new growth and product innovation to sustain Apple’s valuation.
The tech giant has already had a record June quarter. Revenue for the company rose 16% year-over-year to $109.4 billion, whereas diluted EPS increased 29% to $2.02. IPhone and Mac revenue reached June-quarter records, while the installed base surpassed 2.5 billion active devices.
The operating strength further gives Ternus a solid foundation, which comes on top of the hardware engineering expertise he already has from working at the company. This experience also lends him deep familiarity with the product line he is about to reveal at the September9 event.
Bear Case: The Valuation
Apple stock is already trading at a P/E ratio in the 30s range, which means that a successful launch may not be enough on its own. Rosenblatt’s own target sits below the current share price, an implication that the market has already priced in a successful transition and product cycle.
According to Brian Mulberry, chief market strategist at Zacks Investment Management, which owns Apple stock, Ternus’s biggest challenge is to prove that “AI will be more than an app on the iPhone, more than Siri.”
Another strategic issue Ternus inherits from Cook is the laggard that Apple is in the field of artificial intelligence. With hardware rivals looking to displace smartphones as a default consumer device, bears have also criticized the company for losing innovation after the iPhone.
Analysis and Bottom-line
When it comes to Apple, hedge fund holders are still holding on to the stock. 169 hedge fund holders held the stock at the end of the second quarter of 2026, modestly down from 170 in the previous quarter.
Berkshire Hathaway held on to its stake in the recent quarter, making no changes with 227.9 million shares. Fisher Asset Management increased its position by 3%, while Arrowstreet Capital boosted its position by an aggressive 54%.
Short interest for the stock stands at an estimated 0.8% to 0.9% of its public float, which is telling the same story of optimism and limited bearish skepticism surrounding the stock.
Overall, Rosenblatt’s note reflects the first key test for Ternus: new product innovation at the September 9 launch event that can help justify Apple’s premium valuation.
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