©Reuters
Investing.com — Apple Inc (NASDAQ:)'s recent stock decline presents a buying opportunity, Wedbush Securities Managing Director Dan Ives said in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday. He cited the possibility of upside from the iPhone maker's eventual integration of artificial intelligence.
Ives said Apple's stock slump is largely due to concerns about slowing sales in China, which he sees as a short-term headwind.
“We've been here before, and these are clearly dark days when it comes to China,” Ives said. But he added that he sees the weakness as a “buying opportunity” and expects Apple to weather the short-term headwinds.
Ives also mentioned the possibility of Apple's AI integration, which is gaining a lot of attention in the technology sector.
“Betting on Apple has been the wrong move for the past 15 years. We remain bullish on Apple because of its golden installed base, rock-solid service, stack of iPhone upgrades, and AI coming to Cupertino. It's a problem,” Ives said. in a social media post.
Shares of the Cupertino-based tech giant fell 2.8% on Tuesday, with losses following media reports that the company's iPhone sales fell 24% in China in the first six weeks of this year.
China's new economic goals for 2024 also fell far short of market expectations.
Sluggish sales in China have been a major headache for Apple over the past year, as consumer spending in the country has slumped and the government has banned employees from using Apple products for official purposes.
This also comes as the iPhone maker appears to be lagging behind US tech giants in rolling out AI-related products and features. Apple stock is down nearly 12% so far in 2024, while the stock is up 6.2%.
Wedbush analysts said in a note earlier Tuesday that they remain bullish on Apple.
Wedbush maintains an outperform rating on Apple, with a price target of $250, representing nearly 40% upside from current levels.
