** Shares of Apple AAPL.O rise 0.73% to $335.69 in premarket trading

** HSBC upgrades Apple to "buy" from "neutral" rating; raises PT to $366 from $260, representing a ~10% upside to the stock's last close

** Brokerage says Apple’s robust product pipeline and enhanced AI capabilities are expected to drive growth in hardware revenue

** HSBC also expects new AI features to drive growth in Apple's higher-margin services segment

** Adds that key risks include new AI hardware competition and a prolonged chip shortage, though Apple's strong pricing power should help protect its margins

** AAPL has a market cap of $4.92 trillion in premarket trading, set to overtake Nvidia's NVDA.O $4.86 trillion to become the world's most valuable company, if gains hold

** 32 of 48 brokerages rate the stock "buy" or higher, 13 "hold" and 3 "sell"; their median PT is $327 - LSEG-compiled data

** As of last day's close, stock up 22.58% YTD