Apple Inc. stock rose more than 4% on Thursday, outperforming a sharply weaker technology sector. The Nasdaq fell 1.63%, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.27%, with technology being the day's weakest-performing sector, down 2.6%. The positive momentum followed a bullish view from Bank of America Securities analyst Wamsi Mohan, who maintained a Buy rating and a $380 price forecast.

App Store and Services Growth

Mohan pointed to specific growth metrics in the fiscal third quarter of 2026. App Store revenue rose 3.2% year over year to $8.8 billion, while total iPhone and iPad downloads increased 1.3% to 8.7 billion. Additionally, App Store dollars per download rose 1.9% year over year to $1.01. Bank of America models 14% year-over-year growth for Apple's total services revenue in the fiscal third quarter of 2026.

The $380 price forecast is based on 37 times the calendar 2027 estimated EPS of $10.27.

AI and New Products as Drivers

Bank of America remains positive on Apple due to strong capital returns, potential in edge AI, and optionality from new products and markets. Mohan noted that the Supreme Court's decision to hear Apple's appeal in the Epic Games case is a constructive development as the company defends its App Store economics. The new Siri AI architecture, combined with Apple silicon, is viewed as an important unlock for future hardware-driven and AI-enabled monetization opportunities.

Technical and Earnings Outlook

Apple continues to trade in an established uptrend. The stock was trading at $306.64, about 4.3% above its 20-day simple moving average of $294.76 and 13.6% above its 200-day moving average of $270.69. The next technical resistance sits near $317.50, close to the stock's 52-week high of $317.40, while initial support is around $287.50.

Apple is expected to report quarterly results on July 30. Wall Street expects earnings of $1.89 per share on revenue of $108.86 billion, compared with $1.57 per share and $94.04 billion in the year-ago period. The stock trades at about 35.6 times earnings.

Apple Inc. raised prices on several hardware products, including the MacBook Neo, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, iPad Air, HomePod, HomePod mini, and Apple TV, citing tightening memory and storage supplies as AI infrastructure spending accelerates. The price increases, which leave iPhone pricing unchanged, reflect the cost pressures of the artificial intelligence boom and the company's strategy to navigate supply chain constraints. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo estimates that 15% to 20% of memory capacity allocated to consumer electronics in 2026 could be redirected to AI data centers in 2027, widening the supply-demand gap. Micron Technology CEO Sanjay Mehrotra has indicated that memory markets could stay tight beyond calendar 2027.

What Is Driving Apple’s Recent Price Increases?

Apple’s latest round of increases includes a $100 jump on the MacBook Neo to $699 and a $200 increase on the MacBook Air 512GB to $1,299. Bigger-ticket moves include the iPad Air 128GB rising from $599 to $749 and the iPad Pro WiFi 256GB increasing from $999 to $1,199. The company is reportedly engaging with Chinese memory suppliers to address component cost and supply crunches, though qualifying new vendors involves testing and security reviews.

Market Position and Performance

AAPL shares were trading 1.73% higher at $299.46 at the time of publication on Thursday. The stock is sitting essentially flat versus its 20-day SMA ($294.88) and modestly above its 50-day SMA ($292.67). The bigger-picture trend remains constructive, with price about 6.6% above the 100-day SMA ($276.59) and about 9.1% above the 200-day SMA ($270.33). Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate AAPL maintains strong momentum and quality scores but a weak value score.