Microsoft

CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows: We hold our 12-month target at $475 on a P/E of 33x our CY 25 view, above historical given AI growth trajectory and visibility. We raise our FY 24 (Jun.) EPS estimate to $11.89 from $11.74, adjust FY 25 to $13.22 from $13.43, and keep FY 26 at $15.39. MSFT posts Mar-Q EPS of $2.94 vs. $2.45, ahead of our $2.84 estimate. Sales rose 17%, above our view, led by Intelligent Cloud (+21%), More Personal Computing (+18%), and Productivity and Business Processes (+12%). Elevated Azure Cloud growth (31% vs. our 29% view) is sparking investor enthusiasm, with 7 points of growth from AI (near our forecast), while adoption from Microsoft 365 Copilot remains promising with a longer tail. MSFT Jun-Q guide was near expectations with sustained Azure […]

Microsoft (MSFT) will be a major beneficiary of incremental AI spending, according to a survey of chief information officers cited by Morgan Stanley in a Friday note. Morgan Stanley continues to see opportunity in Microsoft despite investor impatience with its topline results. “We continue to see room for further expansion,” according to the note. Particularly promising are Microsoft’s Azure, with the survey indicating that a net 39% of chief information officers expect to see Microsoft as the top AI budget share winner in 2024, Morgan Stanley added. Microsoft’s 365 Copilot is projected to contribute $5 billion to revenue in fiscal 2025, Morgan Stanley estimates, and $23 billion by fiscal 2029. While upcoming Q3 results will give investors some key data points on Azure growth, the other aspects of the Generative AI impact on Microsoft need several more business cycles. Still, Morgan Stanley sees Microsoft “positioned to sustain a 14% five-year

CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows: We increase our 12-month target price to $475 from $455 based on a P/E of 33x our CY 25 view, above historical, as we see upside to forward expectations related to an improving AI growth trajectory/high visibility. We raise our FY 24 (Jun.) EPS estimate to $11.74 from $11.56 and FY 25 to $13.43 from $13.04. We start FY 26 at $15.39. Ahead of Mar-Q results expected on 4/23, we look for EPS of $2.84 on 15% revenue growth. We think all eyes will be on Azure, which we see growing 29%, with 6 to 8 percentage points of AI contribution. Any insights on Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption will also be monitored (first full quarter), as we do expect to hear positive commentary and see positive contribution

Microsoft’s (MSFT) “strong secular positioning” in tech, cloud and generative artificial intelligence should help the company double its earnings per share to $24 by fiscal 2029, Morgan Stanley said in a note Thursday. Given the company’s leading position, the business should be able to achieve a compound annual growth rate of 14% in revenue and 16% in earnings per share over the next five-year period, the firm said. Growth in the company’s earnings and revenue will be driven by its cloud business, while its first mover advantage in generative AI should further compound the gains. Morgan Stanley estimates the company’s revenue from its largest three generative AI initiatives could jump from around $5 billion in 2024 to almost $67 billion in 2029, and as much as $120 billion in a bullish scenario. The firm raised its price target to $520 from $465 on the company’s stock and maintained its overweight

Morgan Stanley analyst Keith Weiss maintained Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) with an Overweight and raised the price target from $465 to $520. Weiss highlighted that as investors hone in on the Generative AI cycle and look to identify assets able to monetize and compound the benefits of these innovations, he extended his discrete Microsoft forecast to 5-years, highlighting the durable EPS story enabled by their strong secular positioning. Weiss expected Microsoft’s leadership position for multiple secular growth trends to translate into a 14% revenue CAGR and 16% EPS CAGR through fiscal 2029. Weiss noted that Microsoft’s improving positioning for Public Cloud drives an increasing share of the overall IT wallet, as evidenced by Microsoft Commercial revenues gaining 3.5% points of share within IDC’s overall software market estimates over the past five years. The analyst noted that more robust positioning for Enterprise PaaS workloads should enable Azure to take the market share lead in Public

Microsoft (MSFT) was “being proactive” when it unbundled Teams from Office globally, Macquarie said in a note Monday, citing a Reuters report on the company’s decision. The company did the same in Europe in 2023 to avoid the scrutiny of antitrust investigators after Slack owner Salesforce (CRM) accused Microsoft of abusing its market power in the operating system space to drive out competitors like Slack in the messaging field. Macquarie said that considering history, it wouldn’t be surprising if the company’s moves on Monday don’t sway the regulators examining Microsoft. “Microsoft’s rationale for the new rollout makes sense,” the firm said, “though we note it is unlikely to deter competitors’ complaints altogether, particularly around the competitiveness of fees and the ongoing ability of Teams-competitive products to natively integrate with the rest of the Office application portfolio.” The firm said that Microsoft’s announcement showed that it is willing to compromise where

Jefferies analyst Brent Thill maintains Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) with a Buy and raises the price target from $465 to $550.

Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives maintains Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) with a Outperform and raises the price target from $475 to $500.

Truist Securities analyst Joel Fishbein reiterates Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) with a Buy and maintains $600 price target.

Microsoft’s (MSFT) launch of its new AI business unit “brings balance, not displacement” to its partnership with OpenAI, Macquarie said Thursday in a report. The launch is “another example of Microsoft’s strategic navigation of the rapidly evolving AI landscape,” Macquarie said. Microsoft selected an external team of AI experts to lead its new unit, and the company plans to build products with internally developed AI technology and key partners such as OpenAI, the report said. “In our view, the decision to create a separate AI unit staffed principally by accomplished AI researchers suggests Microsoft investing into its own AI competencies,” Macquarie said. Macquarie reiterated its outperform rating and $455 price target on Microsoft.