4. Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 184
Talking about a couple of positive analyst notes about Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), Jim Cramer said in a latest program on CNBC:
“Basically (analyst notes) saying, it ain’t that bad, so buy the stock. I would like more than that. I would say Apple, own it, trade it. I’m for the elongated cycle. They don’t have to have the 16 be perfect. They have to have demand over time. When you get the AI, people will want to upgrade.”
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) recently posted decent quarterly results but concerns remain around its iPhone 16 sales and growth. Analysts are deeply divided on this stock. Morgan Stanley recently called Apple’s current position “challenging,” with KeyBanc and TF International Securities expressing concerns over iPhone sales volume. KeyBanc downgraded Apple to “underweight” with a $200 price target. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives remains bullish, reiterating his view that Apple could reach a $4 trillion market cap.
Recently, Apple reclaimed a top-5 position in China’s smartphone market, its 15.6% market share is still down from last year, especially against Huawei, which surged with over 40% growth. Xiaomi also continues to challenge Apple’s competitive edge. Notably, the iPhone 16 had only about three weeks of Q3 sales, yet didn’t lift Apple’s market share for the quarter, despite expectations for initial sales to be strong.
In the latest earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook highlighted new features for the iPhone, such as a more comfortable watch band and sleep apnea detection, none appeared to be major demand drivers for new customers.
Vltava Fund stated the following regarding Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“You probably have not missed the news that Warren Buffett has already sold half the stock from his largest public markets investment, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). It was a phenomenal investment for Berkshire. Over the course of seven years or so, it brought a profit of well over USD 100 billion. Apple comprised a very large position within Berkshire’s public portfolio, and this was the reason we avoided Apple stock outright during that time. We considered our exposure to Apple through our holdings of Berkshire stock to be sufficient, and we ended up making a lot of money on it. There has been a great deal of speculation in the market about what Buffett’s sale of Apple signals regarding his view of the stock market. I think the reason for the sale is much simpler. Buffett probably considers Apple stock so expensive that he prefers to cash in at 20% less (after all, Berkshire must pay tax on its profits). He started selling in the first quarter of the year. When I was in Omaha for the general meeting in May, Buffett said he was still selling, and I expect he continued to do so in the third quarter. I have to say that, as a Berkshire shareholder, I am happy about the Apple sale. I think Berkshire’s management will find a better use for this money, as they always have in the past. It is quite likely that they already have a very specific idea about this. If that takes two or three years, it does not matter at all. This is not a race and, in the meantime, the risk of holding Berkshire Hathaway stock itself has been greatly reduced.”
