Apple Stock Price and Forecast: Will Apple break $200 now that Santa Jay has spoken?

• Apple stock rallies as the Fed tapers and equities pop.
• Fed to finish taper by March and hike rates three times in 2022.
• AAPL rallies nearly 3% as Nasdaq pops 2.4% on Wednesday.

Super Jay, or should we say Santa Jay, has done it again. This time he was moving the Fed to a more hawkish stance but all the while keeping equity investors happy. While a more hawkish stance would usually spook equity investors, particularly those in the tech space, the bullish narrative that accompanied the Fed meeting helped equities to more gains.

While the Fed now plans to finish its taper by March 2022 and raise rates three times thereafter, Powell had prepared the market for this announcement. The Fed is very optimistic about the performance of the US economy heading into 2022, and we have to agree. Apple (AAPL) as the barometer of overall stock sentiment surged thereafter. It ended the day just short of $180 at $179.30 for a gain of 2.9%. Does this pave the way for a move to $200 by year end? Can the Santa rally see Apple add another $20? That may be optimistic given it represents a more than 10% move with just two weeks of the year remaining, but the lure of $200 will be hard for traders to avoid. If not 2021 then soon, equity sentiment remains bullish. 

AAPL 1-day chart for December

Taking a look at Apple's performance for December shows that 10% may be achievable. Apple is up 9% for the first two weeks of December, and this included the Omicron sell-off. Another similar performance for the second half of December, and $200 will be hit.

Apple stock news

The covid surge being experienced in the UK (record cases) has hit some stores now in the US and Canada. Bloomberg reported that stores in Miami, Ottawa and Annapolis were closed temporarily. “We remain committed to a comprehensive approach for our teams that combines regular testing with daily health checks, employee and customer masking, deep cleaning and paid sick leave,” Apple said. Also on Wednesday Apple CEO Tim Cook sent a memo to staff delaying a return to the office from February 1 until a date yet to be determined.

Apple stock forecast

Apple staged a perfect retracement to the 9-day moving average and then bounced sharply yesterday. With the uncertainty of the Fed out of the way, the market rallied strongly. While some profit-taking is always a possibility, stocks should remain strong into year end. Seasonality is on their side. All indicators are trending higher and confirming Apple price action. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is above 70, but overbought for us is above 80.

Apple chart, daily