Rosenblatt said Apple’s privacy efforts could soon pay off by giving it an edge over competitors. In a note on Wednesday, the firm upgraded its rating on the Magnificent 7 member Apple to buy from neutral. Analyst Burton Crockett raised his price target to $260 from $196 at the same time. The iPhone maker’s shares have risen 10% so far this year. Crockett’s latest price forecast suggests the stock could rise another 24% from Tuesday’s closing price of $209.07. AAPL YTD Mountain AAPL YTD Chart Apple has lagged some of its other mega-cap tech companies this year, but Crockett thinks the tide could soon turn. As a catalyst, he pointed to a U.S. consumer survey that showed that the top feature consumers want when it comes to artificial intelligence is overwhelmingly strong privacy, which works in Apple’s favor. “One could reasonably argue that strong consumer privacy concerns work in Apple’s favor because, unlike AI pioneers, Apple has made privacy a top priority as part of its AI marketing drive and architecture,” Crockett wrote. “Apple has created what’s called a private cloud computing architecture that keeps personal information on personal devices and doesn’t expose that information to anyone else, including Apple or third-party LLMs, without permission,” he added. Another advantage for Apple is that its AI approach gives it some immunity from the cost pressures of hyperscalers. Against this backdrop, Crockett sees “the risks and rewards of AI tilting in Apple’s favor.” —CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
Rosenblatt says Apple shares could rise to $260 as it beats Android in AI race
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