So, you're looking at your screen, wondering what's the price of apple stock today, and you see the numbers wiggling around $255.53. It’s been a bit of a weird week for the tech giant. If you caught the closing bell on Friday, January 16, 2026, you saw Apple (AAPL) dip about 1.04%.
Honestly, it’s a bit of a localized "ouch." The stock opened at $257.90 and spent most of the day fighting gravity before settling near its daily low.
Why does this matter? Well, if you’ve been holding Apple for a while, you know it’s usually the "safe haven." But lately, the vibe has shifted. While companies like Alphabet and Nvidia are riding this massive AI rocket ship, Apple has been taking its time—maybe a little too much time for some investors' liking.
Understanding what's the price of apple stock today means for you
The market is currently closed since it's Saturday, January 17, 2026. This gives us a second to breathe and actually look at the "why" behind the $255.53 price tag. It’s not just a random number; it’s a reflection of a few high-stress factors hitting the fan all at once.
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First, there’s the Alphabet factor. For the first time in years, Alphabet’s market cap recently leapfrogged Apple’s. That hurts. Investors are a bit spooked that Apple’s "Apple Intelligence" hasn't yet turned into the cash cow everyone hoped for back in late 2024.
Then you’ve got the supply chain drama. Word on the street is that there’s a shortage of premium Japanese glass cloth—the stuff needed for advanced chip substrates. If Apple can't get the parts, they can't make the iPhones. It's a simple, annoying bottleneck that’s weighing on the price.
The technicals: Is $255 a floor or a trap?
If you’re the type who likes looking at charts, the situation is... interesting. Apple is currently trading below its 20-day and 50-day moving averages, which sit way up near $272. That’s usually a signal that the short-term trend is "meh" at best.
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- 52-Week High: $288.62 (We’re quite a bit off from that peak right now).
- 52-Week Low: $169.21 (Remember when people were panicking back then? Seems like ages ago).
- Support Level: Analysts are keeping a hawk-eye on the $254.93 mark. If it breaks below that, the next stop could be the 200-day average near $233.
What the big banks are saying
Even with the recent dip, Wall Street hasn't exactly abandoned ship. Dan Ives over at Wedbush is still pounding the table with a $350 price target. He’s betting big on the iPhone 17 cycle and the "Creator Studio" subscription that Apple just unveiled. It’s basically a play to bring all those pro-level AI tools under one roof.
Goldman Sachs is also staying positive with a $320 target, citing that massive services business. Think about it: every time someone pays for iCloud or an App Store subscription, Apple gets paid. That revenue is way stickier than hardware sales.
But it’s not all sunshine. Barclays is still sitting there with a "Sell" rating and a $230 target. Their argument? The valuation is just too high for a company growing its earnings at a relatively modest pace compared to the AI chip makers.
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Recent performance at a glance
| Date | Closing Price | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 16, 2026 | $255.53 | -1.04% |
| Jan 15, 2026 | $258.21 | -0.67% |
| Jan 14, 2026 | $259.96 | -0.42% |
| Jan 13, 2026 | $261.05 | +0.31% |
The AI elephant in the room
You can't talk about Apple's price without talking about AI. While the "Godfathers of AI" like Yoshua Bengio are warning about a potential AI bubble or financial crash, Apple is in a weird spot. They aren't the ones spending trillions on data centers—that’s Microsoft and Meta. Apple is trying to be the place where you actually use the AI on your device.
If the "Siri Pro" upgrade expected this spring actually works like a human assistant, $255 is going to look like a bargain. If it’s just another Siri that tells you "I found this on the web" when you ask it to do something useful, the stock might struggle to break back into the $280s.
Actionable steps for your portfolio
Don't just stare at the ticker. If you're looking at the current price and trying to decide your next move, consider these steps:
- Check your exposure. If Apple is 20% of your portfolio, this volatility might feel scary. If it's 5%, it's probably just Tuesday.
- Watch the January 29 earnings. That’s the big one. Apple will report its holiday quarter results then. This will confirm if the iPhone 17 series actually lived up to the hype.
- Set a "Buy" alert. If you believe in the long-term vision of Apple's smart glasses (rumored for late 2026) and foldable iPhones, you might want an alert if the stock hits that $245–$250 range.
- Diversify into Services-heavy plays. If you’re worried about hardware supply chains, look at how much of Apple's profit is coming from the App Store versus the physical phone.
The bottom line is that Apple is currently in a "show me" phase. Investors have seen the vision; now they want to see the receipts. Until the supply chain clears up or the next AI update wows the crowd, expect some choppy water around these levels.