Citi has reiterated its Buy rating for Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), with the price target sitting at $240 for the next 12 months.
The iteration reflects Citi’s confidence in the upside potential of Apple’s custom silicon chip and artificial intelligence (AI) updates, which, together with 2.35 billion users the company currently boasts, hold a lot of potential in the current market.
Atif Malik, one of Citi’s leading analysts, indeed noted Apple’s upcoming AI updates and the potential for Apple’s AI models to become accessible to third-party developers, which could strengthen Apple’s in the AI sector.
All things considered, Malik’s new price target represents an upside potential of 18.99% and an average return of +8.65% from AAPL’s current price target.
Atif Malik’s Apple stock predictions
While the release of some AI-powered Siri features has sadly been pushed to 2026, the upcoming 2025 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) could still see the introduction of significant updates to Apple’s ecosystem.
What’s more, although WWDC typically emphasizes software, Apple has occasionally introduced new hardware at the event, meaning additional surprises are always possible.
Naturally, Apple’s financials are also taken into account, particularly its 4.91% year-over-year (YoY) revenue increase and a gross profit margin of 46.63%.
The numbers are also bolstered by Apple’s return to the top global smartphone sales position in Q1 2025.
Accordingly, Malik is not alone in his bullish optimism, with Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) likewise reiterating its Buy rating last week, albeit with a slightly lower price target of $235.
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