What Wall Street analysts think about Apple stock ahead of Thursday's earnings release

Apple (AAPL) will report fourth-quarter results after the market close on Thursday, with the majority of analysts bullish on the stock in the company's first report since the release of the iPhone 16 last month.

Of the 15 analysts covering the stock covered by Visible Alpha, nine have a “buy” or equivalent rating, four have a “hold” rating and two have a “sell” rating. Their consensus price estimate of $240.87 implies a 6% premium to Thursday's intraday price of $226.97.

Analysts at Wedbush, who reiterated their $300 price target on Monday, said the iPhone 16 with Apple intelligence could “trigger a true supercycle for Apple.” The company estimates that there are around 300 million iPhones worldwide that could be ready for an upgrade.

However, the iPhone 16 could have minimal impact on Apple's fourth-quarter results. The iPhone 16 went on sale on September 20th, with the quarter running until the end of the month.

Wedbush analysts added that they expect Apple could become the first company to reach a $4 trillion market cap in 2025. The iPhone maker currently has a market capitalization of $3.46 trillion, making it the most valuable company in the world. Its shares have gained 18% so far in 2024.