5 big analyst AI moves: Apple may benefit from tariffs; AMD upgraded after results

Investing.com -- Here are the biggest analyst moves in the area of artificial intelligence (AI) for this week.

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Apple could benefit from tariffs, Loop Capital says

Loop Capital is making the case that Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) could benefit from tariff-related disruptions, despite broader market concerns. The brokerage reiterated its $215 price target and Hold rating, suggesting that recent pricing and production adjustments may help support iPhone sales ahead of the iPhone 17 launch.

According to Loop’s supply chain checks, Apple has raised the average selling prices for the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max models by $100 to $200. “Ironically, there is a world where AAPL’s ‘tariff actions’ of pulling phones forward into the Mar Q and Jun Q provide a much-needed bridge into the iPhone 17 launch,” the firm wrote.

Loop also reported that Apple raised its iPhone 17 shipment forecast for the September and December quarters to 100 million units, up from 92 million. Shipments of the new iPhone 17 Air model are now expected to reach 31 million, up by 15 million from earlier estimates.

While acknowledging that tariffs may weigh on margins, Loop believes investors could “look through them if there is legitimate iPhone 17 and iPhone 18 form factor excitement,” noting that both models are expected to feature the most significant hardware redesigns in years.

Separately, Loop flagged Apple’s growing activity in generative AI. “Our work suggests that AAPL’s latest Siri kerfuffle may be compelling a bit of a strategy shift internally,” the analysts said, noting that the company appears to be placing roughly $1 billion in orders for GB300 NVL72 server clusters from Supermicro and Dell (NYSE:DELL).

HSBC lifts AMD shares from Sell to Hold on improved sentiment

Earlier in the week, HSBC upgraded Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) to Hold from Sell and raised its price target to $100 from $75, pointing to improving sentiment following strong first-quarter results and positive geopolitical developments.

Analyst Frank Lee highlighted the recent AI partnership between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia as a potential tailwind for AMD, along with easing tariff tensions. The company’s better-than-expected Q1 performance, driven by strength in data center revenue, has helped revive investor confidence in the stock.

Lee sees future upside tied to AMD’s positioning in AI, calling the stock “appealing in terms of long-term total addressable market (TAM) opportunity.”

He also pointed to upcoming AI chip launches as a key opportunity for AMD to compete more effectively with rivals like Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC).

Redburn starts Broadcom, Arista at Buy, Marvell at Neutral

Meanwhile, Redburn Atlantic has initiated coverage on Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO), Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET), and Marvell (NASDAQ:MRVL) Technology, expressing a bullish stance on two of the three semiconductor names due to their positioning in AI infrastructure.

Analyst Mike Harrison remains positive on application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), even as sentiment around Generative AI cools. He emphasized that “as hyper-scalers and major tech companies invest to protect their competitive positions, ASICs are critical due to their better capital efficiency.”

Broadcom received a Buy rating, with Redburn calling it “arguably the pre-eminent ASICs co-partner,” citing strong ties to GenAI efforts at companies like Meta (NASDAQ:META), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), and OpenAI.

"We think that consensus is not giving Broadcom sufficient credit for the strength of its ASICs pipeline," Harrison added.

Arista was also rated Buy, with its software and hardware capabilities seen as well-suited for scaling Ethernet-based AI clusters. However, Harrison noted that Arista’s exposure to both internal and external workloads at hyperscalers could leave it more vulnerable to short-term demand swings than Broadcom.

Marvell was started at Neutral. While the stock has already sold off sharply this year, Harrison said he wants to see “greater visibility on design wins” before becoming more positive. He flagged concerns around Marvell’s future role in Amazon’s AI chips and increasing competition in the space.

Redburn set price targets of $301 for Broadcom, $112 for Arista, and $67 for Marvell.

Salesforce downgraded at RBC on Informatica deal

RBC Capital Markets has downgraded Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM) to Sector Perform from Outperform and cut its price target to $275 from $420, citing concerns over the company’s $8 billion acquisition of Informatica.

While Salesforce delivered a relatively in-line quarter, RBC said the announced deal and associated risks were key to the downgrade. “Deal risk with Informatica has tipped the scales for us,” the broker said, adding that it prefers to wait on the sidelines until there is more clarity on Agentforce progress or the Informatica acquisition proves more favorable than expected.

Despite still liking the company’s margin expansion story and viewing the valuation as undemanding, RBC believes the near-term risk-reward has shifted following the deal announcement.

SoundHound is ’a direct play on AI revolution:’ Piper Sandler

In another new coverage, Piper Sandler has initiated SoundHound AI Inc (NASDAQ:SOUN) at an Overweight rating and a $12 price target, calling the company a “direct play on the AI revolution” through its voice-AI technology.

Analysts highlighted SoundHound’s integrated ASR and NLP architecture as a key differentiator in delivering real-time conversational AI. The company’s platform serves sectors including automotive, IoT, restaurants, and customer service, with Piper viewing quick-service restaurants and customer experience as the most promising verticals.

The acquisition of Amelia has expanded SoundHound’s reach into AI-powered contact centers, a market the firm estimates will grow to $30 billion by 2027. “Combined, we see a $30B serviceable addressable market by 2027, with SoundHound an early leader in each market,” analysts James Fish and Caden Dahl wrote.

Piper also pointed to the company’s shift toward subscription revenue, forecasting that recurring streams will make up 90% of total revenue by 2027, compared to just 4% two years ago. The analysts believe this, along with synergies from Amelia, could lift margins by over 10% in the coming years.

While bullish, they acknowledged ongoing challenges in the automotive segment, where SoundHound remains exposed to broader production headwinds. The company currently has around 25% exposure to global auto production, with its key OEM partners expected to see a 4% sales decline this year.