15 Best Hardware Stocks According To Goldman Sachs

2. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Number of Hedge Fund Shareholders In Q1 2024: 150

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is all the buzz in the AI and technology industry this June. While its shares had remained lackluster before, the stock jumped by 10% after Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s WWDC conference. At the event, it introduced a slew of AI features called ‘Apple Intelligence’, which will bring on device AI capabilities to the iPhone, and also allow users to run more complex workloads on a secure cloud environment. After the event, Rosenblatt kept a $186 share price target and a Neutral rating on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s shares. At the heart of the note was a key observation, which outlined that while Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) might have introduced AI in its products, only the latest gadgets with the A17 processor can use the features. As a result, Rosenblatt remained cautious about pricing in AI euphoria in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s shares.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has a forward price to earnings ratio of 29. This is higher than the S&P’s 21, and it shows that investors expect the stock to grow slightly faster than the market. Aristotle Atlantic Partners mentioned the firm in its Q1 2024 investor letter and shared:

Apple contributed to portfolio performance in the first quarter due to the strategy’s underweight relative to the benchmark. Investors continue to be concerned about weak handset sales globally, as well as declining market share and competitive dynamics in the Chinese market, as Huawei has returned to the market with a more competitive premium-priced handset. Apple has yet to demonstrate a competitive AI product, which could present further competitive headwinds for the company.

Apple is a tad expensive for our taste, but hedge funds disagree with us. AAPL was one of the top 10stocks on our list of the 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds.