Apple Is Hiking Macbook and iPad Prices. AAPL Stock Is Falling

Apple (AAPL) shares closed meaningfully lower on Thursday after the tech behemoth announced a major price increase that affects its entire MacBook and iPad line-ups. 

The company based out of Cupertino, California, has raised prices by a “uniform” 20% to combat an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven surge in the cost of sourcing memory chips. 

Versus its year-to-date high, Apple stock is down some 12% at the time of writing. 

Why Apple Stock Tumbled on Thursday

AAPL shares slipped on June 25 primarily because abrupt, overnight price hikes diverge from the titan’s historical playbook of adjusting MSRP’s only with major hardware redesigns. 

Passing the burden of “chipflation” onto consumers signals that skyrocketing DRAM and NAND memory costs are eating into the firm’s coveted gross margins.

According to experts, higher prices may force consumer to defer upgrading their secondary devices like iPads and Macs, leading to immediate demand destruction. 

While Apple has successfully shielded iPhone pricing for now, this desperate move highlights a raw vulnerability to the global artificial intelligence infrastructure boom, which continues to monopolize advanced component manufacturing.

Barclays Maintains AAPL Shares at ‘Underweight’

Apple shares were under immense pressure on Thursday also because Barclays’ senior analyst Tim Long reiterated his “Underweight” rating and a bearish $253 price target on the iPhone maker. 

In a note to clients, Long cited “uncertain growth backdrop, regulatory risks in Services segment, and undefined AI strategy,” for the bearish stance on AAPL. 

Crucially, the company is currently trading at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of about 33x, which the bank’s analyst dubbed an unjustified premium in his research report. 

Note that Apple crashed below its 50-day and 100-day moving averages (MAs) today, reinforcing that the bears are taking back control across multiple timeframes.  

Apple Remains a ‘Buy’ Among Wall Street Firms

Investors could still take heart in the fact that other Wall Street analysts seem to disagree with Tim Long on AAPL stock. 

According to Barchart, the consensus rating on Apple remains at “Moderate Buy” with the mean price target of about $313 indicating potential upside of nearly 14% over the next 12 months.