Oppenheimer Raises Price Target on Microsoft (MSFT) to $65 Following 1Q Beat

Microsoft to raise enterprise prices in UK after pound plunges

By Kate Holton

LONDON (Reuters) - Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) plans to increase prices for some enterprise services by up to 22 percent in Britain following the plunge in the pound, likely hitting thousands of companies and government departments who rely on its cloud and software products.

Microsoft said it would increase prices for its enterprise software by 13 percent and for its cloud services by 22 percent from Jan. 1 next year, becoming the latest tech company to raise fees in the wake of the vote to leave the European Union.

Britain's shock vote on... More

Second wind for stocks as earnings turn positive

By Rodrigo Campos

NEW YORK (Reuters) - With S&P 500 earnings on track to rise after four consecutive quarters of contraction, U.S. stocks are clearing a major hurdle that puts the record high in sight for the benchmark U.S. stock index.

The S&P 500 hit a record high in mid August even after the long profit slump. The index has trended lower since then, and even closed below its 50-day average for most of the last six weeks. Some analysts have blamed the recent weakness on expectations that earnings would again fail to grow, as... More

Notable 52-Week Highs and Lows 10/21: (MSFT) (PYPL) (LECO) High; (SKX) (FNBC) (ATHN) Low

52-Week High:Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) $60.45. Microsoft reported Q1 EPS of $0.76, versus the analyst estimate of $0.68. Revenue for the quarter came in at $22.3 billion versus the consensus estimate of $21.71 billion.

PayPal (Nasdaq: PYPL) $43.90. PayPal reported Q3... More

Microsoft (MSFT) Comments on NFL/Surface Issue; Will Continue to Work League, Teams to Address Problems

Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) posted the following to its Surface blog on Friday:

This week Surface has been at the center of the debate on the role of technology in the NFL, with different opinions shared from coaches and players. We thought it might be valuable to share some additional context from our perspective.

We love the NFL. We love the game, the players, the coaches, and the fans. We have deep respect for the teams and the IT Pros who work tirelessly behind the scenes to... More

EU regulators want to know if LinkedIn data is unique: sources

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators want to know whether LinkedIn's data is unique, two people familiar with the matter said on Friday, which could be key to their decision on Microsoft's $26 billion bid for the social network.

The European Commission earlier this week sent questionnaires to third... More

Streetinsider.com's Hot Lunchtime Reads 10/21: (ACAD) (PFPT) (MSFT) (PRGO)

The following is a list of notable articles to help get you through the lunch hour:Proofpoint (PFPT): Raising PT After A Stellar Quarter - Wells Fargo ->... More

Oppenheimer Reiterates Outperform on Microsoft (MSFT) Following Strong 1Q Report

Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating and $62.00 price target on Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) following the company's 1Q earnings report. Non-GAAP revenue of $22.3B was up 5%, vs. estimates of $21.6B. EPS was $0.10 above $0.66 estimates, driven by the beat and lower taxes. There were few concerns, but... More

Microsoft (MSFT) volatility adjusts to better than expected Q1 results

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) November option implied volatility November is at 18; compared to its 52-week range of 14 to 39 into Q1 earnings exceeded expectations and sales of its cloud platform Azure more than doubled.

Microsoft (MSFT): Still Grossly Overvalued - Jefferies

Jefferies analyst, John DiFucci, reiterated his Underperform rating on Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) but raised his price target to $43 from $40 after non-GAAP EPS of $0.76 on rev of $22.3B topped consensus estimates of $0.68 and $21.7B.

The analyst estimates $0.03 of benefit from lower income taxes relative to guidance and... More

Pre-Open Stock Movers 10/21: (ALKS) (RAI) (PFPT) (MSFT) Higher; (SGY) (TWLO) (RRGB) Lower (more...)

Today's Pre-Open Movers

Stone Energy (NYSE: SGY) 46.3% LOWER; On October 20, 2016, the Company entered into a restructuring support agreement (the RSA) with certain (i) holders of the Companys 1 3/4% Senior Convertible Notes due 2017 (the Convertible Notes) and (ii) holders of the Companys 7 1/2% Senior Notes due 2022 (together with the Convertible Notes, the Notes and the holders thereof, the Noteholders), to support a restructuring on the terms of a pre-packaged plan of reorganization as described therein (the Plan). The RSA contemplates that the Company will file for voluntary relief under chapter 11 of the United States... More

Wunderlich Securities Upgrades Microsoft (MSFT) to Buy

Wunderlich Securities upgraded Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) from Hold to Buy with a price target of $70.00 (from $60.00).

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Microsoft click here. For more ratings news on Microsoft click here.

Shares of Microsoft closed at $57.25 yesterday.

Wall Street ends little changed; Microsoft hits record

By Chuck Mikolajczak

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Dow were little changed and the Nasdaq advanced on Friday as a record day for Microsoft and earnings from McDonald's helped offset a fall in energy and healthcare shares.

General Electric (NYSE:... More

William Blair Upgrades Microsoft (MSFT) to Outperform

William Blair upgraded Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) from Market Perform to Outperform.

Analyst Jason Ader commented, "We are upgrading the shares of Microsoft to Outperform from Market Perform following another strong print. Our rationale is based on increasing confidence in Microsoft's long-term... More

Microsoft (MSFT) PT Lifted to $68 at Nomura

Nomura Securities analyst Frederick Grieb reiterated a Buy rating and raised his price target on Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) to $68.00 (from $65.00) amid strong results with continued cloud growth.

Grieb commented, ". Microsoft reported F1Q'17 revenue and non-GAAP EPS of $22.3bn and $0.76, which was... More

After-Hours Stock Movers 10/20: (CERC) (ALKS) (PFPT) (MSFT) Higher; (SKX) (RRGB) (AMD) Lower (more...)

Today's After-Hours Movers

Cerecor (NASDAQ: CERC) 55.9% HIGHER; surges on Alkermes positive trial results.

Alkermes plc (NASDAQ: ALKS) 37.9% HIGHER; announced positive topline results from FORWARD-5, the third phase 3 efficacy study to read out from the FORWARD pivotal program for ALKS 5461, a once-daily, oral investigational medicine with a novel mechanism of action for the adjunctive treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) in patients with an inadequate response to standard antidepressant therapies. The study met its prespecified primary endpoint showing treatment... More

Microsoft (MSFT) Tops Q1 EPS by 8c

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) reported Q1 EPS of $0.76, $0.08 better than the analyst estimate of $0.68. Revenue for the quarter came in at $22.3 billion versus the consensus estimate of $21.71 billion.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Microsoft (MSFT) click here.

Wall Street dips as telecoms slump; AmEx surges

By Chuck Mikolajczak

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended a choppy session on Thursday with a slight decline as investors digested the latest round of earnings, with a sharp drop in telecoms offset by gains in healthcare.

Telecoms were down 2 percent, their biggest percentage decline in five weeks, as Verizon lost 2.5 percent. The company added fewer than expected wireless subscribers in the third quarter and revenue fell short of expectations.

The sector was also pressured late in the session as AT&T extended earlier losses after a report the company had... More