Cramer says Apple's Monday rally doesn't have 'staying power' after analyst upgrade

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CNBC's Jim Cramer was wary of Apple's stock rally, which he said was spurred by an analyst upgrade. He said the gains may not last, and investors should wait to buy.

On Monday, Bernstein's Toni Sacconaghi upgraded Apple shars from neutral to buy and said it's time to "buy the fear." Sacconaghi suggested the stock was too cheap, saying it's set up for a "strong iPhone 16 cycle" and that its weakness in China is "more cyclical than structural."

"Unlike Toni, I want you to own Apple, not trade it, even as I suspect this quarter will be weak and the next quarter will be worse," Cramer said. "But I'm with him that you should buy the stock — I just think you need to wait it out, because now you've got a Sacconaghi spike on top of what could be a bad quarter."

The iPhone maker is set to report earnings Thursday evening, and Wall Street's expectations are on the low side. But the stock saw shares rise on Monday, closing up 2.48%.

Cramer said he's not trying to disregard Sacconaghi, who he called a "genuinely great analyst," but said he's an "Apple skeptic" who doesn't analyze the stock accurately. Cramer added that "it feels a bit suspect" that this moment is when Sacconaghi "climbs on the bandwagon" for Apple.

"Apple rallied on an upgrade from an analyst who, historically, does not have a great understanding of this particular stock," Cramer said. "That's a much less inspiring kind of rally with no staying power to speak of."

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. CNBC has also reached out to Sacconaghi.

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