Gene Munster: 'Apple Is A $250 Stock' Longer Term, But This FAANG Name Offers Near-Term Upside

Apple Inc AAPL investors focused on underwhelming product announcements at Cupertino's "Peek Performance" event Tuesday, but Loup Ventures' Gene Munster said the real takeaway was below the surface. 

"I think the more important piece was ... beyond the headlines," Munster said Wednesday morning on Benzinga's "PreMarket Prep."

What To Know: Tuesday's event was Apple's first of four this year, Munster said. The company held four events in 2021 and 2020 as well, he said. 

"What it tells me is the company is having success despite headwinds that we've all dealt with last couple of years," Munster said. "That's the sign of a great company."

He told Benzinga it's very difficult to continually roll out new products, but Apple has been able to consistently do so at a high level.

"For the stock to continue to move higher in the years to come, you have to have this product movement continuing." 

The biggest takeaway from the event was Apple's price increase on its entry level iPhone SE, which shows the company has pricing leverage, according to Munster.

Apple's raising price. New iPhone SE includes an 8% price bump from the previous generation. Now starts at $429. Despite higher price, I bet they won't be able to keep up with demand.

— Gene Munster (@munster_gene) March 8, 2022

"I think Apple is a $250 stock in the next couple of years, but I think a lot of big tech is going to see some softness here in the next month," Munster said.

See Also: Is Apple A Defensive Play? Why This Investor Is Buying More Stock

Where To Invest Now? Munster is anticipating another wave of concern surrounding recession risk in the near term, but said most of that is already priced into Meta Platforms Inc FB. 

"The fact that it's down 50% from its high doesn't mean anything, as we all know," he said. "What's more important is they still have an incredible advertising business."

He anticipates Meta will report weak comparable numbers as a result of the advertising identifier declarations Apple put in place, but again, most of it is already priced in, he said.

"If you want to own large cap, near term, I think Facebook is a good place to be."

AAPL, FB Price Action: At publication time, Apple was up 2.98% at $162.13 and Meta was up 3.80% at $197.53.

Photo: courtesy of Apple.

See the full interview here: