AAPL shares surged 9.3 percent on Monday as the U.S. stock market rebounded and Apple's rating was upgraded by an analyst who said the company was more prepared than its competitors to absorb the impact of the coronavirus outbreak (via Reuters).
Oppenheimer raised its rating on Apple stock from "perform" to "outperform", arguing that the stock had become too cheap since its 16.5 percent drop on February 12 that hovered until Friday's close.
As Barrons notes, the rally meant Apple enjoyed its biggest single-day move in more than 11 years.
Apple played a significant role in Monday's historic rally. Shares of the iPhone maker soared 9.3%, the stock's largest one-day move in more than 11 years.
The $24.45 per share gain contributed 172 points to the Dow Jones Industrial Average's 1,296 point gain. Apple (ticker: AAPL) closed the day at $298.91, after trading as high as $301.44 during the day's session. The stock peaked at $327.20 on Feb. 12.
Apple's stock has yo-yoed amid the developing COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, and last week saw major fluctuations within the span of hours.
The viral epidemic in China prompted many of Apple's suppliers to suspend production at their factories in February and Apple retail stores temporarily closed out of an abundance of caution.
Apple CEO Tim Cook last week said he felt "China is getting the coronavirus under control," and added that the number of reported infections in the region is "coming down day by day by day." Major iPhone assembler Foxconn today said it expects its Chinese plants to resume normal operation by the end of the month.
Apple's rally boosted the company's market value by $111 billion, while its market capitalization now stands at $1.3 trillion, although that's still shy of the company's all-time high of $328 set on January 29, 2020, which saw its market cap grow to over $1.4 trillion.
