Economists have floated the effects of tariffs on the global economy, but investors need to realize that these views are just that—opinions. Opinions based on theory that may or may not play out in the end, so what matters more is what is actually happening in the economy and the markets today. The answer is clear in this case, and that is increased interest for the biggest technology sector names to invest in the United States rather than away from it.

Companies like Apple Inc. NASDAQ: AAPL, Oracle Co. NYSE: ORCL, and others have decided to invest billions in their presence within the United States economy and manufacturing process. Now, economists would have suggested that tariffs might have caused the opposite effect to drive these names further away from dealing with the United States. Just the opposite happened, but one player in particular stands out in importance.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing NYSE: TSM has announced its latest round of investment in the United States, this time up to $100 billion, on top of its previous $65 billion position. This is important because Taiwan Semiconductor owns over 90% of the semiconductor supply chain, essential to the future of artificial intelligence and essentially all other chips needed in several industries.

Taiwan Semiconductor Stock: Unpriced Potential

Now that shares of Taiwan Semiconductor stock have traded down to 80% of their 52-week high, investors might wonder whether that makes for a potentially good buying opportunity today. While the expansion of their manufacturing presence in the United States is definitely bullish, investors shouldn’t get too carried away just yet.

First, they should check with the markets and Wall Street analysts. For starters, Barclays analysts decided to reiterate their Overweight rating on Taiwan Semiconductor stock as of January 2025, this time also boosting their valuation targets to a high of $255 per share. They call for not only a new 52-week high but also a net rally of 38% from today’s price.

Faced with this upside potential and the considerable outcome from this new investment in the United States, which might bring on additional institutional capital investment, investors can now note clear evidence pointing to the decline and capitulation from short sellers.

Over the past month, up to 9% of Taiwan Semiconductor’s short interest has declined as short sellers decide that the risk is not worth the reward at today’s lows. At the same time that these short sellers abandoned their views, up to $9.8 billion of institutional capital also made its way into the company over the past quarter.

Now that investors see the upside potential in Taiwan Semiconductor after its most recent investment announcement, it is time to understand how this might affect the rest of the chip industry.

NVIDIA’s Redemption Time at $110 Per Share

It’s almost as if the market knew that Taiwan Semiconductor would announce the positive news ahead of time since shares of NVIDIA Co. NASDAQ: NVDA bottomed a day prior at around $110 to $115 per share and are now attempting to recover their ground after selling down to 77% of their 52-week highs.

As of February 2025, analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald also saw NVIDIA stock falling into an Overweight rating. The stock commands a valuation of up to $200 per share, calling for an implied upside potential of 70.5% from where it trades today.

Investors should also remember that what is good for NVIDIA is good for Taiwan Semiconductors, given that they are one of each other’s largest suppliers and consumers.

Despite the recent decline in NVIDIA stock post-earnings, bearish traders found no reason to stick around and keep betting against this leader.

This is why up to 11% of the company’s short interest fell over the past month, giving investors another sign of bearish capitulation.

Intel’s Discount Might Be Erased

After a sluggish year, Intel NASDAQ: INTC stock trades at a dismal 45% of its 52-week high, but that might not last long.

Considering how bullish the market is becoming on the investment shifts in the United States manufacturing of chips and semiconductors, Intel might be next in line for a boost.

And there is more than just sentimental backing for this belief. Investors can look to Wall Street’s earnings per share (EPS) forecasts for $0.16 in the fourth quarter of 2025.

This swing is a massive change from today’s net loss of $0.02 per share, indicating a potential valuation boost in the stock as well.

That might explain why UBS Asset Management decided to boost its holdings in Intel stock by 8.2% as of February 2025, netting its position at $1.3 billion today, or 1.5% ownership in the company.

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View The Five Stocks Here

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Apple NASDAQ: AAPL is down for the year in early March, but don’t let that get you down. Apple’s woes are minimal in the grand scheme of things and unlikely to result in a massive stock price decline.

The more likely scenario is that Apple’s stock price experiences market turbulence; it may correct to a lower price point, but the uptrend will remain intact.

The uptrend will remain intact because Apple is an innovative market leader, commanding sizeable portions of the mobile and PC markets. It may have been late to the AI game, but it isn’t out, and it is on track to capitalize on AI’s advance. 

Market Support for Apple Remains Robust

Apple’s market support remains robust, including among retail investors, analysts, and institutions. Institutional activity is noteworthy because the group owns nearly 70% of the stock; their activity reverted to buying on balance in Q3 of 2024, ramped in Q4, and again in the first two months of 2025. 

Institutional activity in Q1 is a multiyear high, netting about $6 billion in shares, or about 1.7% of the market cap when trading near $235. 

Analysts’ activity is equally bullish, including sufficient positive revisions and upgrades to put the stock on MarketBeat’s Most Upgraded Stock list. The Most Upgraded Stocks list tracks the 100 most upgraded stocks in the preceding 90 days, and Apple was ranked 36 in early March. 

Coincidentally, MarketBeat tracks 36 analysts with current ratings, and they have the stock pegged at Moderate Buy. The Moderate Buy rating has a bullish bias because 64% of the ratings are Buy or better, and the price target revision trend is positive.

The consensus in early March offers little upside but is up 20% year-over-year, 4% since late 2024, and steady since the Q4 2024 earnings release, with revisions leading to the high-end range. That puts the market at $235 by year’s end, a gain of nearly 40% from the critical support target. 

There Is Potential for a Catalyst in Apple’s FQ2 Outlook

The analysts have set the bar for Apple’s FQ2 low, with nearly 90% of analysts lowering their targets since the Q1 release. This has the company set up to outperform an already solid outlook, including 5% top-line growth and a wider margin. Earnings are expected to grow by roughly 11% and may exceed analysts’ forecasts due to AI efficiency internally and with sales.

Apple uses AI internally to enhance device performance, user behavior/resource allocation, automation, supply chain management, and customer service. The company uses AI to improve sales by embedding features into its ecosystem, including Siri. 

The longer-term outlook is equally robust. The analysts tracked by MarketBeat forecast a high-single-digit revenue CAGR through the middle of the next decade with a widening margin. Earnings are expected to grow at a high-teens CAGR in the same period, putting the valuation below 10x earnings before 2035. The stock price could increase more than 200% in this scenario, aligning with the March 2025 valuation of 32x.

Apple’s balance sheet and capital return play into the stock price outlook. The company maintains a fortress balance sheet with 2024 highlights, including increased cash and assets, reduced debt and liability, and increased shareholder equity despite robust share buybacks. Buybacks shaved 2.7% off of the quarterly count in Q4 and are expected to remain strong in 2025. 

Apple Stock Crossed a Critical Threshold: Support Rises to Match

Apple’s market crossed a critical threshold in late 2024, rising to a new all-time high and retreating to confirm support at the 150-day EMA. The move signals the continuation of underlying trends in 2025, although the exact timing of when a new high may be reached is unknown. 

The critical support target is the 30-day EMA, which is near $230; if broken, a deeper movement is likely. The critical resistance targets are at $250 and $260; a move to $300 is expected if they are surpassed. 

Before you consider Apple, you’ll want to hear this.

MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street’s top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on… and Apple wasn’t on the list.

While Apple currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.

View The Five Stocks Here

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