Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) stock recently surged past its previous peak, and it seems investors have clearly noticed. Indeed, even as the tech giant whizzes past its 2021 highs, several analysts remain bullish on Bill Gates’ brainchild.
MSFT stock set a new 52-week high at $351.32 after the market’s opening this morning. However, it spent most of the day sliding slowly downward and closed the day at $346.62, a 0.43% decline.
According to many brokerages, Microsoft has plenty of headroom to continue growing. At the time of writing, Microsoft has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 1.38 on Zacks Rank. This means the vast majority of firms give MSFT stock a strong “buy” rating. In fact, out of the 32 recommendations that make up the ABR score, 26 are “strong buy,” while two are “buy,” meaning just four out of 32 recommended holding or selling MSFT.
3 Analysts Betting Big on Microsoft (MSFT) Stock
On Thursday, a number of analysts actually raised their price target on Microsoft in response to the company’s strong stock price growth over the past few days and the year as a whole.
This includes JPMorgan analyst Mark Murphy, who told clients on Thursday that he believes Microsoft may be on track to earning $10 billion off the back of artificial intelligence (AI) alone. Murphy noted:
“Regarding Microsoft’s monetization of AI, the company shares that one primary lever is through the tools and services customers use to build AI apps and services, such as running Azure OpenAI APIs or using the Azure infrastructure, for example.”
Not alone, of course, BMO Capital Markets analyst Keith Backman also recently stated Microsoft is just at the start of its “AI journey,” adding that he believes the technology could add 4%-6% growth in Microsoft Office revenue.
Finally, Mizuho Analyst Gregg Moskowitz recently maintained Microsoft’s “buy” rating and raised its price target to $360 from $340, representing a 4% upside from MSFT’s current $346 share price.
On the date of publication, Shrey Dua did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
