KeyBanc keeps Apple at Underweight with $250 target despite a 44% September hardware spike
As seen on the 24/7 Wall St. homepage on October 15, 2026.
KeyBanc is reading the 44% month-over-month jump in September hardware spending as pulled-forward demand rather than a durable run rate, and is sticking with Underweight and a $250 target on Apple.
$AAPL - KEYBANC REITERATES SELL-BIASED RATING ON APPLE DESPITE STRONG IPHONE 18 DEMAND KeyBanc maintains its Underweight rating on Apple with a $250 price target. September hardware spending surged 44% month-over-month, far above the three-year average of 15%, suggesting
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KeyBanc is not swayed by what looks like a blowout month for Apple hardware. September spending jumped 44% month-over-month, yet the firm kept its Underweight rating and $250 price target intact.
KeyBanc reads the spike as pulled-forward demand, so if buyers simply accelerated purchases they would have made anyway, the months ahead look comparatively weak.
For investors sitting on gains from the iPhone 18 cycle, KeyBanc's stance is a direct challenge to the idea that this upgrade wave has lasting momentum. A 44% surge that gets labeled as a one-time pull-forward changes the investment thesis considerably.
The $250 target gives KeyBanc's position a concrete anchor to track. If Apple's hardware metrics stay elevated in the months following September, the pulled-forward argument loses force and the Underweight call comes under real pressure.
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