Memory-makers have been soaring in the past few months due to the chip shortage. Manufacturers are not able to meet the demand for NAND and DRAM, and AI companies are turning desperate. They're securing whatever supply they can, and memory companies are closing down their consumer arm to meet the enterprise demand.
Amid all this disarray, however, lies Apple (AAPL) stock. Investors have chosen to buy red-hot memory stocks instead of choosing to buy a “steady Eddie” like AAPL stock, but that may exactly be why it's worth buying right now. Of course, that's if you believe this one Wall Street expert.
Why This Expert Wants You to Buy AAPL Stock
Evercore ISI analysts, led by Amit Daryanani, are looking the other way. The firm acknowledges that the memory crunch squeezes hardware original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), but it points out that Apple stands apart from that narrative. Evercore's investor conversations over the past week reveal that the market is broadly optimistic on memory suppliers but cautious on OEMs broadly, and yet Apple is seeing a quiet reduction in bearish sentiment.
Evercore now holds an "Outperform" rating and a $330 price target on shares, and it has kept Apple as one of its top picks for all of calendar year 2026. What Evercore likes is the combination of a derisked capital expenditure story, a building iPhone 17 cycle, and anticipated growth stretching into 2027. Evercore also expects Apple Intelligence features to roll out in phases this year, with upgraded Siri functionality arriving mid-year and a more complete overhaul this fall.
Apple's fundamentals give that thesis some real footing. The company just posted fiscal first-quarter 2026 revenue of $143.8 billion and EPS of $2.84, both ahead of Street estimates. iPhone revenue grew 23% year-over-year (YOY) and, notably, memory headwinds barely dented gross margins in the quarter. Management guided for March quarter revenue growth of 13% to 16% YOY, well above the Street's projection of roughly 10%.
Daryanani is not the only analyst who wants you to buy Apple, either. AAPL stock is a consensus “Moderate Buy” if you average all the ratings.
Why Not Memory Stocks?
Going for memory stocks may look like the path of least resistance because they have been soaring. However, that's exactly what makes them dangerous, as the memory sector is notorious for being cyclical. AI has changed things, but no one expects this rally to go on and on forever.
In fact, most investors are not buying because they see a long-term rally in memory stocks driven by fundamentals. They're instead trying to time the momentum before the market peaks. We're already seeing signs that the memory shortage is no longer accelerating but is slowing and could cool down in the coming months. Obviously, it could take much longer for things to normalize, but you don't need normalcy for memory stocks to come down from euphoric levels.
On the other hand, AAPL stock gives investors something that very few tech stocks can in this environment: stability and long-term gains.
Apple Can Better Weather a Shortage
If you're worried that Apple will take a hit from the memory shortage and take a margin hit, that is possible. However, the likelihood of this happening is low, and Apple is one of the least exposed to a memory shortage due to its ecosystem being great at retaining users.
Not only that, manufacturers are known to give Apple better treatment and priority due to the company's size. They're more than willing to miss out on this temporary memory price surge if that means keeping Apple as a customer for the long term.
Apple also charges what its end customers call extortionate amounts for RAM. Apple charges $200 per 8GB increment. It's unified memory, but it's still leaps and bounds above what the market charged when RAM prices were normal. Provided that people have been happily buying more RAM from Apple at these prices, I wouldn't worry about this RAM crunch eating into its margins.
On the date of publication, Omor Ibne Ehsan did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
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