Microsoft (MSFT) – Get the report from Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Stocks hit a new all-time high on Friday, stretching their annual gain to around 40%, as they continue to chase Apple (AAPL) – Get the Apple Inc. (AAPL) report as the world’s most valuable technology company.
Microsoft, which beat Street’s forecast in its record-breaking fourth quarter earnings report last month, has gained nearly 35% since hitting a six-month low in early April, with investors praising the group’s market-leading cloud computing division amid the shift to home and hybrid work models of businesses around the world and the hyper growth of its new Azure business.
Azure, in fact, is expected to lead Microsoft’s near-term gains after a 51% increase in fourth-quarter revenue that resulted in a 21% increase in the group’s overall revenue to $ 46.2 billion.
Analysts at Mizuho, ​​UBS and Wedbush raised their price targets on the group on Friday to $ 350 per share, with the latter noting potential revenue from its Office 365 products following an earlier Microsoft price hike. this week – the first since 2011.
“We believe this reflects the pricing power of Microsoft after a long period of platform innovation (since launch, Microsoft has added 24 apps, including Teams and Power Platform, along with over 1,400 new features) Said Michael Turits, analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets. “We therefore see potential for an increase in our current commercial revenue estimates for FY22 and FY23 O365 of $ 35.0 billion and $ 39.4 billion, respectively.”
Microsoft shares rose 2.9% mid-morning Friday to change hands at $ 305.34 each, a historic high that puts the market value of Redmond, Washington at $ 2.3 trillion – just below of Apple’s $ 2.44 trillion.
Apple shares rose 1.1% to $ 148.26 each, extending its year-to-date gain to around 15%.
