[Weekly Stock Picks] West HD (1407) Hits Limit-Up & Apple (AAPL) at a Record $327 – One Stock Each From Japan and the U.S.

Hey everyone, Hirokichi here.

It was a lively week for individual stocks in both Japan and the U.S. In this weekly stock picks post, I’m highlighting one name from each market – West Holdings (1407) from Japan and Apple (AAPL) from the U.S. – and going over why they’re in the spotlight and what I’d watch as an investor.

* Stock prices and financial figures in this article are as of July 15, 2026.

Japan: West HD (1407) hits limit-up at 2,802 yen as net profit triples

West Holdings (1407) is a renewable energy company based in Hiroshima. Its core business has long been building and selling solar power plants, but lately it has been pushing hard into grid-scale battery stations – facilities that store electricity in large batteries and sell it when prices are high.

The cumulative Q3 results (September 2025 to May 2026) for the fiscal year ending August 2026, announced on July 15, were striking. According to Minkabu, revenue rose 33.4% year on year to 29.34 billion yen, operating profit jumped 2.3x to 4.61 billion yen, and net profit tripled to 2.32 billion yen. As the chart shows, profits grew far faster than sales did.

The driver was the battery station business, which alone generated 8.49 billion yen in revenue and 3.0 billion yen in operating profit – more than making up for the sluggish solar segment. The market loved it: the stock hit its daily limit-up at 2,802 yen (+500 yen, +21.7%) on July 15.

West HD from an investor’s perspective: forward P/E around 16 even after the surge

For the full year ending August 2026, the company guides for revenue of 54.46 billion yen (+15.3%) and operating profit of 11.38 billion yen (+31.6%). Even at the limit-up price of 2,802 yen, the forward P/E (price-to-earnings ratio) works out to roughly 16, and the projected dividend of 70 yen per share implies a yield of about 2.5%. Given this growth pace, I don’t see that as an extreme valuation.

There are caveats, though. Stocks that hit limit-up often pull back sharply on profit-taking in the following days, and the battery business is sensitive to power price swings and regulatory changes. With a market cap of roughly 140 billion yen, this is a volatile mid-cap. Personally, I’d rather wait for the post-earnings dust to settle than chase the spike.

U.S.: Apple (AAPL) hits a record 7 on China AI approval

From the U.S., my pick is Apple (AAPL). According to Yahoo Finance, the stock rose 3.5% to $327 on July 15, a fresh all-time high. It’s up about 20% year to date, with a market cap of roughly $4.8 trillion – the world’s second-largest company.

The biggest catalyst is China. Apple’s AI feature, Apple Intelligence, received registration (approval) from Chinese regulators, and Alibaba confirmed that its AI model Qwen will power the feature in China (Benzinga). Analysts had long flagged the lack of AI in China as the weak spot in Apple’s AI strategy, so plugging that hole is a big deal.

On top of that, Apple’s share of the global smartphone market hit a record 20% in the April-June quarter of 2026. That’s remarkable considering industry-wide shipments fell to their lowest level since 2013 amid the memory chip shortage – a testament to the brand’s pricing power. The public beta of iOS 27 with the revamped Siri, plus Citi raising its price target from $315 to $365, added further tailwinds.

Apple from an investor’s perspective: watch that P/E of 38

With all this good news, valuation is the thing to watch. According to Macrotrends, Apple currently trades at a P/E of about 38 – above even its trailing 12-month average of about 35.

Ironically, the memory shortage behind Apple’s market share gains is also a cost headwind for Apple itself. Whether rising memory prices squeeze product margins is something I’ll be checking every earnings season. The more excited the market gets, the more I want to ask calmly: how much of this is already priced in?

Looking ahead: three things I’m watching

To wrap up, here are three things I’m watching over the coming week.

(1) Earnings season is kicking into high gear in both Japan and the U.S. Sharp moves in individual stocks become more common, so I’d be extra careful about holding positions through earnings announcements.

(2) U.S. inflation data and the Fed (the U.S. central bank). Rate-cut hopes have been a tailwind for the whole market, so any sign of re-accelerating inflation could change the mood quickly.

(3) The AI and power theme. As West HD shows, stocks tied to AI and data center electricity demand are attracting money in both Japan and the U.S.

If you’d like more deep dives on surging stocks, check out my article on why Kioxia Holdings (285A) skyrocketed and my explainer on the Anthropic and OpenAI IPOs – they’ll help you get a feel for the market’s current themes.

Let’s keep at it, slow and steady. See you next time!

日本語版はこちら → 【今週の注目株】ウエストHD(1407)がストップ高＆アップル(AAPL)は最高値327ドル！日米2銘柄を深掘り

* This article is for informational purposes only and does not recommend any specific investment. Please make investment decisions at your own responsibility.

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