Apple (AAPL) stock is making a statement, pushing to all-time highs in back-to-back sessions.
The stock is up 1.7% as the bulls again bid higher. That comes after Thursday’s 2.85% rally, which sent the country’s largest company by market cap to new all-time highs.
Apple stock took off on Thursday followingreports of its autonomous car. Apple’s current $2.61 trillion market cap edges out Microsoft’s (MSFT) $2.58 trillion valuation.
The stock is now working on its sixth straight daily gain.
Wedbush analysts added to the bullishness today. They named Apple their top FAANG pick for 2022, while setting abullish price target on the Nasdaq.
In January, April and July, Apple blew the roof off with its earnings results. Yet the stock didn’t reward shareholders.
In the first two instances, Apple stock reversed hard. In both of those instances though, trend support held where it needed to. In the third instance, the prior all-time high near $145 ultimately held as support.
Apple has been a rewarding holding over the past year, but it’s also been frustrating for some investors. It’s slowly but surely pushed its way higher -- but the sluggishness and the selloffs after strong earnings have tested some investors' patience.
And while its gains have been solid, it still lags the S&P 500 in performance this year. Over the past year, Apple's 35% gain overtook the index's 32% return only due to this week's rally.
Additionally, the two-times range extension from the previously-mentioned September 2020 range comes into play near $173.
We are watching for a close above $160 in order to open the door for a potential rally to the $169 to $173 area.
Above $175 and longer-term bulls can look at the $188 to $194 area as the next upside target zone.
On the downside, a move back below the prior high at $157.26 should have traders on guard for potentially more selling. Below Friday’s low and a test of the 10-day moving average may be next.
Along with Amazon (AMZN) , Apple is looking like a great buy-the-dips candidate going forward.