JPMorgan Raises Apple Price Target to $345, Confident in Pricing Resilience
N.R. Finch
JPMorgan lifted its Apple target from $325 to $345, arguing that iPad and Mac price hikes of roughly 20% signal pricing power that will carry into iPhone 18 — and that Apple's earnings resilience will prove far better than the market's current pessimism.
Why is JPMorgan raising the target now?
Analyst Samik Chatterjee reiterated an overweight rating and raised the price target from $325 to $345.
The trigger: Apple recently announced ~20% average price increases across its iPad and Mac lines, prompting the Street to extrapolate iPhone 18 pricing power.
This means → JPMorgan is not betting that Apple *can* raise prices — it is betting that demand holds after the hike.
"Demand price elasticity" — what is that really asking?
Demand price elasticity — whether consumers keep buying after a price increase — is flagged as the single biggest variable across Apple's hardware lines.
Rising memory costs drove what Chatterjee calls "unprecedented price increases," and investors disagree sharply on the near-term consumer response.
In plain terms = the debate boils down to one question: prices up 20% — do buyers walk? Chatterjee says no; the market has not decided.
What is the iPhone 18 launch timeline?
Premium models are expected in fall 2026; the base model is pushed to early 2027.
Chatterjee argues multiple drivers will make Apple's revenue and earnings far better than the Street's current bearish expectations.
This means → the second-half test is straightforward: can iPhone 18 pricing deliver earnings without meaningfully hurting unit volumes?
What other major ratings landed the same day?
Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on SpaceX with an overweight, calling it a unique "X of 1" position in space infrastructure.
KeyBanc reiterated an overweight on Nvidia, citing its unique beneficiary position in AI-driven data-center growth.
Deutsche Bank upgraded First Solar from hold to buy, citing attractive valuation and a strong balance sheet among US-domestic solar panel makers.
What attention did China cloud and data-center names get?
Morgan Stanley initiated on Kingsoft Cloud with an overweight, citing its pivot from general-purpose cloud to AI cloud, backed by the Xiaomi and Kingsoft ecosystem.
Deutsche Bank initiated on VNET Group with a buy, calling it China's leading carrier-neutral data-center operator serving over 7,000 enterprise clients.
This reflects an acceleration in Wall Street's coverage of China AI-infrastructure names — two bulge-bracket initiations on the same day is no coincidence.
Which other sectors saw notable initiations?
Goldman Sachs upgraded pest-control firm Rentokil from neutral to buy, forecasting organic growth reaching a mid-single-digit target by 2027.
TD Cowen initiated on US Foods, Chefs' Warehouse, and Performance Foods, all at buy.
Barclays initiated on American Healthcare REIT and cross-border payments firm Wise, both overweight; Wolfe initiated on Ferrari with an outperform, expecting revenue acceleration in FY2027.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.