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Ives said that Apple’s stock weakness came chiefly from concerns over a sales slowdown in China, which he views as a near-term headwind.
“We’ve been here before, but clearly it’s dark days in terms of China,” Ives said. But he added that he saw the weakness as a “buying opportunity,” and that he expected Apple to persevere through the near-term headwinds.
Ives also flagged potential in Apple’s integration of AI, which has become a major hot topic for the technology sector.
“Betting against Apple has been the wrong move over the last 15 years and it’s all about the golden installed base, rock solid services, pent up iPhone upgrades, and AI coming to Cupertino why we remain firmly (bullish) on Apple,” Ives said in a social media post.
Shares of the Cupertino-based tech giant slid 2.8% on Tuesday, with losses coming after media reports showed the firm’s iPhone sales slid 24% in China in the first six weeks of the year.
China’s new economic goals for 2024 also largely underwhelmed markets.
A Chinese sales slowdown has been a major pain point for Apple over the past year, as consumer spending in the country slowed, while the government also banned its employees from using Apple products for official purposes.
This also came as the iPhone maker appeared to be seemingly lagging its major U.S. tech peers in rolling out AI-linked products and features. Apple shares are trading down nearly 12% so far in 2024, compared to a 6.2% increase in the Nasdaq composite.
Wedbush analysts had said in a note earlier on Tuesday that they still remained bullish on Apple.
Wedbush holds an outperform rating on Apple with a price target of $250, representing a nearly 40% upside from current levels.
