Tech giant Apple (AAPL) is suing a former senior engineer, Di Liu, for allegedly stealing secret company files just before joining Snap (SNAP), which makes AR smart glasses. According to the lawsuit filed on June 24 in California, Liu worked on Apple’s Vision Pro headset and is accused of downloading thousands of sensitive documents in his final days at the company. Indeed, Apple says that he saved the files to his personal cloud accounts. The tech giant, which is known for keeping a tight grip on internal information, has taken legal action in similar cases to protect its intellectual property.
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The lawsuit claims that Liu didn’t tell Apple he was leaving to go work for Snap, so the company gave him a standard two-week transition period and didn’t immediately cut off his access. During that time, Apple says that Liu used his credentials to copy documents from secure systems. These files reportedly included project codenames and detailed information on Apple’s product designs, technologies, and supply chains. Apple says that Liu violated confidentiality agreements he signed when he joined in 2017 and believes he could now use that information in his new job at Snap.
While Apple is not suing Snap, it argues that there’s significant overlap between the confidential data Liu took and the kind of work Snap is doing. The company wants Liu’s devices to be reviewed by experts to ensure that all data is removed, and is also seeking damages. This is one of several cases where Apple has gone after former employees for taking files when leaving. Some ended in settlements or apologies, while others involved criminal charges for passing secrets to China-linked organizations. In fact, one former employee was sentenced to four months in prison, while two others are still facing charges.
Is Apple a Buy or Sell Right Now?
Overall, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on AAPL stock based on 16 Buys, nine Holds, and four Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average AAPL price target of $226.54 per share implies 9% upside potential.
