As Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) stock opened the second half of 2026 with a bullish outlook, David Vogt, an analyst from UBS, reiterated a neutral sentiment.
In a note to clients on July 1, Vogt maintained a Hold rating for AAPL stock. The Wall Street analyst set his 12-month target for Apple stock price at $296, which was almost hit during the premarket trading session on July 2.
According to the report, UBS’s Evidence Lab survey of over 7,500 smartphone users across key markets revealed mixed signals for Apple. While iPhone purchase intent in the United States (U.S.) rose approximately 300 basis points year-over-year to around 20%, demand in China continued to soften, falling 100 basis points to roughly 15%.
Stronger gains were seen in the United Kingdom (UK), where the increase reached 600 basis points (bps), and in Germany, where it rose by 400 bps. The survey also showed the average age of iPhones in use edged lower to 22.9 months, though it remains near recent highs.
On the software side, enthusiasm for Apple Intelligence news appeared to cool, with the percentage of respondents who said they would upgrade sooner for those capabilities falling 500 basis points, to about 24%. Vogt noted that net interest in a potential Apple foldable iPhone also slipped modestly compared with the prior survey.
Apple stock price forecast and performance
Following the UBS rating, Apple stock has received 30 analyst reviews over the past three months, according to data from TipRanks. Notably, the company’s shares have received an average 12-month price forecast of about $324.40 and a Moderate Buy.
From a technical analysis standpoint, Apple stock has been attempting to maintain bullish sentiment after closing June in the red.
During Thursday’s premarket, AAPL stock hovered around $295.29, with the daily Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) signaling a potential bullish reversal. The near-term technical reversal is also bolstered by analysts’ bullish sentiments.
