Key Takeaways
- Microsoft shares closed at a record high Thursday and are on track to do it again on Friday.
- Analysts this week highlighted the tech titan’s strong position amid the AI revolution.
- The consensus price target for analysts tracked by Visible Alpha is about 12% higher than Microsoft’s intraday level.
Microsoft (MSFT) shares are on pace to close at a second record high in as many days Friday, but analysts say there’s still a lot of upside left on the table for the world’s most valuable company.
Bernstein this week raised its target to $540 from $520, arguing the company’s partnership with OpenAI “can generate huge potential revenue upside for Azure” by the end of the decade, according to CNBC. Wedbush meanwhile said Microsoft “is currently in the driver’s seat on the AI front,” in a note to clients.
Microsoft’s Intelligent Cloud segment, which includes the Azure cloud computing platform, delivered 21% revenue growth year-over-year last quarter, beating analysts expectations. Microsoft called for similar growth in the current quarter, which runs through June. Following the company’s Microsoft Build event last month, Goldman Sachs analysts said the company could reach $300 billion in cloud revenue by 2029, compared to $135 billion in fiscal 2024. The bank raised its price target to $550 from $480.
The consensus price target for Microsoft shares among analysts tracked by Visible Alpha is near $525, which implies 12% upside over Friday’s intraday price of about $471 with all 19 analysts issuing a buy or equivalent rating.
Microsoft has jockeyed with Nvidia (NVDA) this week for the title of the most valuable company in the world by market capitalization. Its valuation stood at a whopping $3.48 trillion Friday, with Nvidia just behind at $3.46 billion.
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