Watch These Apple Price Levels as Stock Hits Record High on iPhone 17 Sales Optimism

Apple (AAPL) shares remain in the spotlight after hitting a new record high for the first time this year on Monday following signs of a strong start to iPhone 17 sales.

The tech giant’s recently released iPhone 17 series outsold its prior lineup in the U.S. and China during its first 10 days of availability, according to a report from Counterpoint Research. The base model performed particularly well in China, while many American buyers upgraded to the Pro Max version, according to the research.

Apple shares have rallied 30% from their August low and are up nearly 5% year to date (YTD). However, they trail the returns of all Magnificent Seven members except Amazon (AMZN) since the start of the year amid concerns that the iPhone maker has fallen behind its big tech peers in the AI race. The stock was down slightly at around $262 in recent premarket trading Tuesday.

Below, we break down the technicals on Apple’s chart and identify critical price levels worth watching out for after the stock’s record high close.

Potential Bear Trap

After breaking below a pennant earlier this month, Apple shares made a swift reversal to close above the pattern on Monday, creating a potential bear trap scenario. Such a trading event “traps” investors who initiated short positions and subsequently generates losses as the price turns higher. 

Meanwhile, the relative strength index confirms bullish momentum, though the indicator remains below its prior peaks, indicating the stock has further room to move into price discovery mode before consolidating.

In another win for the bulls, the 50-day moving average (MA) crossed above the 200-day MA last month to generate a bullish golden cross.

Let’s apply technical analysis to forecast how a new trend higher in Apple shares may play out and also identify support levels worth watching.

Applying Bars Pattern Analysis to Apple’s Chart

Investors can forecast how a new trend higher in Apple share might unfold by using bars pattern analysis, a technique that analyzes prior price movements to project future trends.

When applying the study to the iPhone maker’s chart, we extract the bars comprising the strong uptrend from early August to late September and overlay them from this month’s low. This forecasts an upside target of around $308 and indicates the move may last until late November or early December if price action rhymes. 

Interestingly, this earlier move began after a similar bear trap formed on the chart following a breakdown from a pennant, offering clues as to how a new trend could emerge from a comparable trading setup.

Support Levels Worth Watching

During retracements, investors should initially watch the $250 level. This area could provide support near recent lows and the stock’s prominent February countertrend swing high.

Finally, selling below this level may see Apple shares retreat toward $237. Investors could look to accumulate shares in this region near a multi-month horizontal line that connects a range of closely aligned trading activity on the chart between July last year and September this year.

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As of the date this article was written, the author does not own any of the above securities.