Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is one of the AI Stocks Making Waves on Wall Street. On July 9, Wedbush reiterated its “Outperform” rating on the stock and maintained its price target at $270.00.

CNBC's "Closing Bell" is joined by Wedbush Securities' Dan Ives to discuss Apple CEO Tim Cook, the company's AI struggles and more.

Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities said it’s clear Apple is incapable of producing its own AI in-house, despite a company culture that strives to build superior products internally. In recent days, some of Apple’s top AI talent has also been poached by increasingly aggressive AI talent recruiter Meta, Bloomberg reported.

Dan Ives, a well-known technology analyst at Wedbush Securities, stated that Apple is in advanced talks to acquire Perplexity, an AI-powered search engine startup backed by investors such as Nvidia and Jeff Bezos. He estimates the potential deal to be around $1.4 billion.

Dan Ives has raised his price target for Palantir Technologies, signaling a 12% upside from its trading price over the next 12 months.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk slammed Wedbush Global Head of Technology Research Dan Ives on twitter telling him to "shut up" after Ives suggested the board limit Musk's political activity. The tweet comes during a turbulent week that saw shares in the electric vehicle-maker plunge after the billionaire businessman announced he's forming a new political party.

Wedbush Securities managing director Dan Ives says that a three-year bull market for the one stock market sector is just in its initial phase.

Wedbush's Dan Ives said Apple should consider buying Perplexity and its AI search engine if it wants to catch up to its peers in the AI race.