Apple Hits Record High on iPhone 17 Sales Optimism; Technicians Eye $250 Support and $308 Upside Target

Apple closed Monday at a record high, the first time this year its shares have reached that mark. The push came on early evidence that the iPhone 17 is selling well. By Tuesday's premarket session the stock had slipped slightly, trading around $262.

The sales signal came from Counterpoint Research. Its report found that the iPhone 17 series, which only recently went on sale, outsold the previous lineup in both the U.S. and China during its first 10 days of availability. The base model did particularly well in China, while many American buyers chose to upgrade to the Pro Max.

The record comes with some context. Apple has rallied 30% from its August low and is up nearly 5% for the year. That still trails every member of the Magnificent Seven except Amazon. The lag reflects concern that the iPhone maker has fallen behind its big tech peers in the AI race.

Investopedia's chart analysis reads the move as a possible bear trap. Earlier this month Apple shares broke below a pennant pattern, then reversed quickly and closed back above it on Monday. A bear trap catches investors who bet against the stock, and they take losses as the price turns higher.

Two other indicators lean bullish in the same analysis. The relative strength index confirms upward momentum, but it remains below its prior peaks, which suggests the stock has room to run into price discovery before it consolidates. The 50-day moving average also crossed above the 200-day last month, forming what traders call a golden cross.

To project where the move might go, the analysis uses bars pattern analysis, which takes past price behavior and lays it over the present. It extracts the strong uptrend from early August to late September and overlays it from this month's low. The result is an upside target near $308, with the move potentially lasting until late November or early December if history rhymes. The earlier rally also began after a bear trap following a breakdown from a pennant, a setup similar to the current one.

On the downside, the first level to watch during pullbacks is $250. That area sits near recent lows and near the stock's prominent February countertrend swing high. A break below it could send shares toward $237, where investors might look to accumulate. That level sits near a multi-month horizontal line connecting closely aligned trading between July last year and September this year.

The analysis is informational, not advice. What happens next depends on whether early iPhone 17 demand holds up beyond the first 10 days, and whether the chart follows its August template toward $308 or gives back ground to $250.