Should Traders And Investors Avoid Apple's Stock Right Now?

Goldman Sachs made a very bearish call on Apple Inc. AAPL and this was the subject of debate on CNBC's "Halftime Report."

Goldman raised Apple's price target from $263 to $299, but told investors to "avoid the stock" at these "unsustainable" levels. Apple traded around $371 per share at the time of publication.

Apple 'Does Not Deserve' To Be This High: Apple's stock "does not deserve" to be where it is, although the same can be said for other stocks and the market as a whole, Stephen Weiss said on CNBC. Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Apple has shown investors flat earnings and revenue growth for two years.

As such, Apple's stock hasn't justified a multiple expansion by a factor of two, he said. However, the market is likely eyeing Apple ahead of its biggest product launch ever, a new 5G capable phone.

Apple Has Zero Competition: Before diving into Goldman's thesis on Apple, it's important to point out that "no body" competes with Apple, Momentum Advisors CEO Tiffany McGhee said. The iPhone maker not only has a cult following but has become an expert at connecting with its customers in every aspect of their lives.

In other words, investors can't rely simply on traditional metrics Wall Street analysts and investors use to evaluate companies. She said this holds true for a company like Apple where "no one has been able to quite do what they have been able to do."

'Can't Understand' The Sell: Apple is believed to be weeks away from announcing a 5G handset and Jon Najarian said he "can't understand" the logic behind Goldman's call. Even if investors sell Apple's stock to take some profit off the table, the question remains where would they put the cash to use.

"What stock in the tech space do you replace Apple with?" he asked.

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