'Time To Buy' Apple Stock, Says Expert: 'Out Of All Mag 7 Stocks, After Maybe Tesla, Apple Is Currently The Most Hated'

Apple Inc. AAPL investors are being "way too pessimistic" about the company and that the iPhone maker's stock still has "room to run," according to Eric Jackson.

What Happened: EMJ Capital's Jackson expressed surprise about the "hate" that the Apple stock is receiving amid a decline in iPhone sales in China and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) antitrust lawsuit.

"I think investors are being way too pessimistic. Out of all the Mag 7 stocks, after maybe Tesla, Apple is currently the most hated," Jackson said during an interview with CNBC's Last Call.

"We've seen this picture before, there have been pullbacks, sometimes a lot sharper pullbacks than what we've seen."

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Apple is currently caught between the DOJ lawsuit and declining sales in China. The DOJ antitrust lawsuit claims that Apple monopolized the smartphone markets and stifled innovation for apps, products, and services.

Apple has termed the lawsuit "dangerous," but Wedbush's Dan Ives does not expect "any business model changes for now."

"Mad Money" host Jim Cramer has even questioned the legitimacy of lawsuits against Apple, Alphabet Inc.'s Google, and Amazon.com Inc., suggesting that the government's actions are more about curbing the influence of these large corporations than about any actual legal violations.

But the bigger concern for Apple, according to Deepwater Asset Management's Gene Munster, is the declining iPhone sales in China. The Tim Cook-led company reportedly witnessed a 33% fall in iPhone sales in February compared to the previous year.

However, Jackson thinks the Apple stock still has "room" to go up. Since hitting an all-time high of $197.86 in December, Apple's shares have declined 14.27% till date.

See Also: Tim Cook's ‘Buy Your Mom An iPhone' Comes Back To Bite Apple In DOJ's Antitrust Lawsuit

"We're certainly seeing disappointing China numbers. I think it's at these times [that] there's a lot of pessimism floating around where it's proven to be smart to step in. So, I have been accumulating over the last few weeks."

"I think the June WWDC event is going to be a catalyst. I say, it's time to buy."

Why It Matters: Apple has come under increasing regulatory fire across its products and services portfolio.

After being forced to switch to the USB Type-C port with the iPhone 15 series, Apple has been forced to embrace RCS, or Rich Communication Services, a messaging standard that Alphabet Inc.'s Google has been pushing for.

Apple has also been in a public spat with high-profile developers like Spotify Technology SA, Epic Games, and others.

It has been called out by Microsoft Corp. and Meta Platforms Inc. over its alternative app store policies in the EU.

The iPhone maker suffered another setback earlier this month after being hit by a $1.95 billion fine in a 2019 Spotify antitrust case.

Price Action: On Wednesday, Apple stock was up 0.23% in premarket trading after closing at $169.71 on Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro.

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