Shares of Apple, currently the most valuable company in the world, closed just shy of their all-time high on Monday.
Apple's stock price rose 2.3% to $233 on the last day of the quarter. That is less than 1% below its record close on July 16 of $234.82. The stock has risen during four of the last five trading days and is up 21% year to date, about the same as the Nasdaq Composite and slightly ahead of the S&P 500's 20% rise.
It wasn't immediately clear what caused the gains, but a Morgan Stanley report on Monday pointed to stabilizing lead times for some models of the iPhone 16, which was announced Sept. 9.
"While this doesn't change our view on this cycle, we view the elongation of iPhone 16 Pro/Pro Max lead times as a positive leaning development worth watching," the report noted. The analysts rate Apple as Overweight and a top pick.
A separate report from J.P. Morgan analysts also noted stabilizing lead times for the higher-end Pro models, "highlighting the likelihood that the initial slower momentum in demand for the Pro models is correcting itself with the release of Apple Intelligence drawing closer."
Apple Intelligence is Apple's play on the words "artificial intelligence" (get it?) and will start rolling out in October with iOS 18.1, according to Apple. The generative AI software will summarize emails and create original images and customized movies, among other features.
Analysts have been fretting over demand for the new phones, which feature a new camera button on the side and better battery life, since they started shipping earlier this month. Longer lead times, while an imperfect measure, are generally seen as signs of stronger demand.
The Morgan Stanley analysts noted the slightly longer lead time by two to three days during the past week "more closely resembles the trajectory of the better-performing iPhone 12 and 13 Pro/Pro Max models, rather than the iPhone 14 and 15 Pro/Pro Max models, which saw contracting lead times at this point in the cycle."
Analysts are generally bullish on the stock, with 32 of the 48 whose ratings are tracked by FactSet giving it either a Buy or Overweight rating as of Sept. 24.
Apple is currently worth $3.5 trillion.
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