Asian Tech Press (Jan 4) -- Loup Ventures analyst Gene Munster said Monday that the next logical step for Apple Inc.'s rise lies in the metaverse as it becomes the first U.S. company in history to reach $3 trillion in market capitalisation.

Munster said in a CNBC interview on Monday that Apple will release a preview of metaverse products in 2022 and possibly a commercial version in 2023. He expects Apple to capture the metaverse with AR features on its phones, as well as the launch of AR/VR glasses.

The analyst believed Apple's aggressive foray into the metaverse will drive further expansion in the price-to-earnings ratio (P/E ratio) as investors take into account the growing size of its potential market.

In addition, Munster opined that Apple could rise to $250 in the future, equivalent to a market cap of $3.8 trillion.

However, he added that one of the biggest risks is that the P/E ratio will not expand as much as he expects and investors are more on the sidelines with the metaverse.