Nasdaq MSFT MicroSoft

U.S. stock indexes rose on Monday at the start of the final quarter of a tumultuous year in which investors fretted about aggressive interest rate hikes against the backdrop of historically hot inflation and fears of slowing economic growth.

The latest tally of analyst opinions from the major brokerage houses shows that among the 30 stocks making up the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Microsoft is the #2 analyst pick. Microsoft is also a top tier analyst pick among the broader S&P 500 index components, claiming

Activision Blizzard ATVI is expanding the World of Warcraft (WoW) franchise with the recently announced release of Dragonflight on Nov 28 globally.Players will get to discover the Dragon Isles and explore four new zones, each revealing more about the ancient dragon aspect

DocuSign, Inc. DOCU is currently benefiting from solid growth strategies and strong liquidity. However, increasing expenses are worrisome.

Electronic Arts EA and Koei Tecmo have announced a partnership for the release of a new hunting action game named Wild Hearts.The Wild Hearts trailer reveals an untamed world of vicious monsters. The player characters equip themselves with a variety of armor, swords, and

U.S. stock indexes rose on Monday after sharp declines last week although losses in Tesla Inc capped the gains on the Nasdaq after the world's most valuable electric-vehicle maker missed quarterly delivery targets.

TD SYNNEX SNX is gaining from solid demand for its technology solutions, driven by the pandemic-induced work- and learn-from-home trends. Acquisitions and partnerships are helping the company to expand its product portfolio and global footprint. A steady IT spending envir

Salesforce CRM has been benefiting from the strong adoption of its cloud-based products and solutions as customers are undergoing a major digital transformation amid the ongoing hybrid work environment. Moreover, the cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) soft

Shares of Carnival Corporation & plc CCL plummeted 23.3% after it forecast a loss for the fourth quarter and a delayed return to profitability.Shares of NIKE, Inc. NKE plunged 12.8% after it reported a 44% increase in inventories.Microsoft Corporation’s MSFT shares fe

Avid Technology AVID recently announced the launch of its latest Pro Tools release, 2022.09, with new features for the music community.

U.S. stock indexes were set to open higher on Monday after sharp losses last week although losses in Tesla Inc capped the gains for Nasdaq futures after the world's most valuable electric-vehicle maker missed quarterly delivery targets.

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Launched on 09/09/2010, the Vanguard S&P 500 Growth ETF (VOOG) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

Metaverse, which means a virtual world reachable to an umpteen number of people for communications, business, and more, might sound futuristic. But truth be told, much of our lives are now already controlled online.  

Reliance Jio will soon launch a laptop priced at just 15,000 rupees ($184) - one of the cheapest on offer in India, aiming to replicate the success of its low-cost phone, said two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

Tencent is resetting its M&A strategy to put more focus on buying majority stakes mainly in overseas gaming companies, as the tech giant eyes global expansion to offset slowing growth at home in China, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Reliance Jio will launch a budget laptop priced at $184 (15,000 Indian rupees) with an embedded 4G sim card, aiming to replicate the success of its low-cost JioPhone in India's highly price-sensitive market, two sources told Reuters.

While many former tech high-flyers were already on the backfoot last year, the market’s tech giants kept charging ahead in 2021. The same cannot be said, however, of the leaders’ performance in this year’s bear market. None have been immune to the market conditions, and all are showing negative returns on a year-to-date basis. Microsoft (MSFT) has also succumbed; the shares are down by 31% since the turn of the year.

In the depressed economic climate, the company has laid off around 2,000 employees over the past few months while also slowing down on the hiring front. Not to mention, in the report for the fiscal fourth quarter (June quarter), the company delivered its slowest revenue growth since 2020 and missed bottom-line expectations for the first time since 2016.

That said, if you could count on one company coming out relatively unscathed from the current bear market, Microsoft is definitely a big contender.

At least that appears to be the view of Raymond James’ Andrew Marok. The analyst sees a “collection of sustainable advantages in the story including: 1) strong positioning in fast-growing, innovation-heavy markets including public cloud, gaming, and digital advertising; 2) significant scale advantages from the cumulative effect of years of investment; and 3) deep, established relationships with enterprise software purchasers and essentially universal brand recognition, which 4) positions Microsoft as a “low risk” vendor that can take share regardless of (or perhaps especially during) periods of soft economic conditions.”

Based on these comments, Marok has resumed coverage of MSFT stock with an Outperform (i.e., Buy) rating and $300 price target, based on a valuation “slightly below” its three-year historical average, due to “strong trends in the business slightly moderated by worries around the trajectory of enterprise IT spend if economic conditions worsen.” Nevertheless, the figure could still generate returns of 29% in the year ahead. (To watch Marok’s track record, click here)

Over the past 3 months, 30 analysts have chimed in with reviews of this stock, which break down as 27 to 3 in favor of Buys over Holds, all culminating in a Strong Buy consensus rating. The average target clocks in at $324.74, suggesting shares will climb 39% higher over the coming months. (See Microsoft stock forecast on TipRanks)

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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analyst. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.