NEW YORK: Microsoft Corp shares jumped to record levels on Thursday, with the company’s stronger-than-expected March quarter results lifting its market capitalisation “to US$1 trillion and beyond,” in the words of Morgan Stanley.
Analysts were broadly positive on the results, with most pointing to the rapid growth in Microsoft’s Azure cloud-computing business. UBS wrote that the results suggested that “there’s lots more opportunity ahead”, while Evercore ISI raved that Microsoft “should remain a stock for all seasons”.
Shares climbed as much as 5.1%, allowing Microsoft to regain the title of largest US stock.
Here’s what analysts are saying about the results:
Goldman Sachs, Heather Bellini“Similar to past quarters, results were strong across the board with Azure coming in ahead of market expectations.”
Goldman reiterated its buy rating and raised its price target to US$144 from US$131.
UBS, Jennifer Swanson LoweThe growth in Azure “underscores strong demand as large enterprises move workloads to the Cloud, and turn to Microsoft as the partner of choice for digital transformations”.
Internal checks suggest “that there’s lots more opportunity ahead”.
Price target raised to US$150 from US$125; buy rating affirmed.
What Bloomberg Intelligence says“Microsoft is one of the best-positioned companies in tech to capitalize on the growing demand for cloud, even more than Amazon.com.” A “dominant position in productivity applications should aid 10%-plus sales growth for at least the next two years”.
Evercore ISI, Kirk Materne“While ‘one-upping’ its performance in FY19 will be difficult, the secular trends powering Microsoft’s various businesses all remain intact, and we believe that the company is uniquely positioned to capitalise on the growing demand for cloud services in the enterprise.”
“Microsoft continues to fire on all cylinders.” It “is a ‘must own’ name for software investors and should remain a stock for all seasons given its growing base of recurringrevenue and strong balance sheet”.
Affirmed outperform rating, price target US$140 from US$135.
- Bloomberg
