Apple rises after Citi lifts its target as tech stocks wobble

Apple shares climbed Monday after Citi raised its price target, giving retail investors a fresh Wall Street read on one of the market’s most closely watched tech names. The move stood out on a weaker day for stocks, when chip shares fell and oil prices rose after renewed U.S.-Iran airstrikes, according to CNBC’s Investing Club with Jim Cramer.

Apple rose 1.1% after Citi lifted its price target to $365 from $315, CNBC’s Investing Club said. A price target is an analyst’s estimate of where a stock could trade over a set period, usually based on earnings expectations, valuation and business trends.

Citi said Apple remains positioned to gain market share even after increasing prices on several MacBook and iPad models, according to the Investing Club recap. The firm tied those price increases to higher memory costs, a pressure point for device makers because memory chips are key components in computers, tablets and phones.

The Apple news came with a legal wrinkle. CNBC’s Investing Club said Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI late Friday accusing the company of stealing trade secrets. Jeff Marks, the portfolio director for the Investing Club, said he did not have a view on the legal merits, while noting that Jim Cramer viewed the case as serious and involving legitimate concerns, according to the recap.

Cramer also remained positive on Apple’s competitive position, CNBC’s Investing Club said, citing his morning note in which he told members to “own, don’t trade this one.” CNBC disclosed that Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long Apple.

Chip stocks led the market lower

The broader market traded lower Monday as investors weighed the start of a heavy earnings week, higher oil prices and renewed military action involving the United States and Iran, CNBC’s Investing Club said. Semiconductor stocks were a major weak spot after a recent rally, with traders taking profits in the group, according to the recap.

Micron and Intel each fell more than 4%, CNBC’s Investing Club said. Intel is also a holding in Cramer’s Charitable Trust, according to CNBC’s disclosure.

Marks said Cramer remained bullish on technology despite the chip pullback, according to the Investing Club. Cramer argued in a Sunday column that tech still offers some of the market’s strongest earnings growth and is well placed to benefit from artificial intelligence, CNBC said.

Oil also moved higher. West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. oil benchmark, rose about 4% to roughly $74 a barrel after the weekend escalation renewed worries about the Strait of Hormuz, according to CNBC’s Investing Club.

Nvidia slips as buyback idea gets attention

Nvidia shares fell almost 2% Monday, but Cramer remained positive on the longer-term artificial intelligence story, CNBC’s Investing Club said. Nvidia is another holding in Cramer’s Charitable Trust, according to CNBC’s disclosure.

In his Sunday column, Cramer argued that Nvidia should pursue a more aggressive share repurchase program, CNBC’s Investing Club said. A share repurchase, also called a buyback, is when a company buys its own stock, which can reduce the share count and increase each remaining share’s claim on earnings.

Cramer also suggested Nvidia could sell parts of its investment portfolio to help fund more buybacks, according to CNBC’s Investing Club. Marks disagreed with the idea of Nvidia taking gains in its Intel stake, saying such a move could put unnecessary pressure on Intel shares, the recap said.

The Investing Club added to its Intel position during Monday’s semiconductor decline, CNBC said, in line with Cramer’s view that Intel remains one of the portfolio’s higher-conviction holdings.

CNBC’s Investing Club said its Monday rapid-fire segment also covered Boeing, Honeywell Aerospace, Capital One, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.