Apple's biggest bull is now calling for a 37% stock jump

By Hannah Pedone

Wedbush's Daniel Ives thinks next month's WWDC event will be a 'major inflection point' for the stock

Shares of Apple were up 2% on Friday morning.

Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives is once again the most bullish Apple analyst on Wall Street, and he's out with a new thesis projecting that shares could rise 37% from here.

Ives raised his price target on Apple's stock (AAPL) to $400 from $350 on Friday. That's now the highest among analysts tracked by FactSet.

He's upbeat about Apple's ability to capitalize on artificial intelligence, which has been a point of debate in the investment community. While Apple has been tight-lipped about its AI strategy this year, Ives thinks that will change next month when the company holds its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, or WWDC.

That could mark a "major inflection point" for Apple shares and pave the way for roughly 20% of the world's population to access AI on an Apple device in the coming years.

Apple's AI missteps, including a botched rollout of a smarter version of the Siri voice assistant, peeved investors last year. Lately, however, they've been more patient, especially as iPhone sales have reignited.

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"Eventually hundreds of AI-driven apps across health, fitness, finance, lifestyle ... will be created by developers around AI in the App Store taking advantage of iOS 27 and the major revamped Apple Intelligence," Ives said, referring to the new operating system expected to be launched at this year's WWDC.

Ives believes that over the next few years, Apple will generate an additional $15 billion in annual services revenue as it becomes the "consumer hub of AI."

And that all fits in with the company's upcoming CEO transition. Apple's current hardware chief, John Ternus, is set to take over from Tim Cook as chief executive in September, and he's expected to double down on hardware innovations, which Ives believes could include the company's first foldable iPhone and affordable Apple eyewear.

Monness, Crespi, Hardt & Co. analyst Brian White pointed out in a note last week that the customer response to the new 13-inch MacBook Neo has also been a major source of positivity around the stock. Demand has been "off the charts," Cook said on an earnings call.

See also: AI is coming for your job after all. These new announcements prove it.

-Hannah Pedone

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05-08-26 1210ET