Wall Street's biggest Apple bull thinks the stock can log big gains this year, and he's identified four developments that could fuel that sort of rally.

The first would be a possible partnership with Google Gemini, according to Wedbush's Daniel Ives, whose $350 Apple $(AAPL)$ price target - 35% above current levels - is the highest among analysts tracked by FactSet.

Apple has struggled to convince Wall Street that it's a formidable player in artificial intelligence, and the company may need to partner to address its "invisible AI strategy," which Ives thinks is "the elephant in the room." Alphabet $(GOOG)$ $(GOOGL)$ escaped a Justice Department ruling relatively unscathed last year, likely paving the way for an exclusive Gemini partnership with Apple, in Ives' view.

But Apple can't just leverage other companies' technologies, according to Ives. A Gemini partnership could make it easier for iPhone users to get their queries answered with AI, but investors still need Apple to show some AI progress of its own.

"Developers and consumers are waiting patiently for the release of the new and improved Siri in the March/April timeframe," Ives wrote. That could open up the possibility of an AI-oriented subscription offering that would allow Apple to monetize its large and sticky user base.

Ives is upbeat about Apple's traction with the iPhone 17, writing Sunday that it has room to "handily exceed current Street estimates" this year. "We are seeing strength in the China market in particular, which should continue for Apple as a growth tailwind heading into the tail end of this iPhone 17 cycle and kicking off iPhone 18 this September," he added.

The fall will be a pivotal time for Apple, which is expected to finally roll out a foldable iPhone later this year. Additionally, Ives expects Apple to hike prices of the next iPhone Pro and Pro Max models by about $100, as production costs are going up. Apple has largely held like-for-like prices steady in recent years, while removing some lower-priced configurations.

Finally, there's a big leadership question at Apple, and Ives has a somewhat contrarian view of what would be considered good news on that front.

Some investors wonder if CEO Tim Cook is still the right person for the job. He brings supply-chain expertise but has struggled to push Apple into innovative new product categories recently and has overseen a lackluster AI push thus far. The New York Times recently wrote about John Ternus, the company's current head of hardware engineering, who's reportedly one of the candidates being considered for the top post at Apple.

But Ives thinks Cook remains the best leader for Apple and that it would be a positive for the stock if Cook were to say he was sticking around as CEO, in response to speculation that he'll cede the top spot this year. Ives believes "Cook will be CEO of Apple at least through the end of 2027 as this remains an integral period for Cupertino to design and execute on its broader AI revolution strategy."