Nomura Securities Reiterates Buy on Microsoft (MSFT) Following Solid 4Q

Microsoft (MSFT) PT Raised to $65 at FBN Securities Following Solid Q4

July 20, 2016 11:25 AM EDT

FBN Securities analyst Shebly Seyrafi raised its price target on Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) to $65.00 (from $55.00) following strong Q4 results. The firm maintained a Outperform rating.

Seyrafi commented, " We retain our Outperform rating and raise our PT from $55 to $65. The company continues to grow well in the... More

Microsoft (MSFT) PT Raised to $62 at UBS Following Resilient Q4

July 20, 2016 8:43 AM EDT

UBS analyst Brent Thill reiterated a Buy rating and lifted his price target on Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) to $62.00 (from $59.00) following better-than-expected Q4 results.

Thill commented, "Our 'grind higher' thesis remains intact as, after a tough FQ3, MSFT delivered a bounceback Q4, with total revenue $400M above Street ($22.6Bn, +5% CC), strong EPS upside boosted by a favourable tax rate ($0.69 vs. Street... More

Microsoft helps Wall St. to another day of record highs

July 20, 2016 7:23 AM EDT

By Lewis Krauskopf

(Reuters) - Wall Street gained on Wednesday and the S&P 500 and Dow industrials set fresh records, as Microsoft's strong results boosted the indexes and marked the latest sign that U.S. corporate earnings season may be less dour than feared.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) shares surged 5.3 percent after the software giant posted sharp growth in its cloud computing business.

The stock gave by far the biggest lift to the major indexes and the tech sector .

Defensive sectors such as utilities and telecoms have led the market's gains... More

Microsoft (MSFT) volatility elevated into better than expected Q4 and outlook

July 20, 2016 6:07 AM EDT

Microsoft (MSFT) is recently up $2.36 to $55.45 in the premarket on better than expected Q4 results and outlook. July weekly call option implied volatility is at 65, August is at 54; compared to its 52-week range of 19 to 40.

... More

Unexpected high license growth fuels SAP second-quarter operating profit beat

July 20, 2016 1:27 AM EDT

By Harro Ten Wolde

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Unexpectedly strong growth in high-margin packaged software licenses fueled quarterly earnings of Europe's largest software company SAP , which confirmed its full-year outlook.

Second-quarter operating profit, excluding special items, rose 9 percent to 1.52 billion euros ($1.67 billion), beating average analysts' expectations of 1.45 billion euros in a Reuters poll.

SAP, whose customers include many of the world's biggest multinational corporations, specializes in business applications ranging from accounting to human resources to supply-chain management.

It and its established rivals such as Oracle (NYSE:... More

After-Hours Stock Movers 07/19: (ISRG) (CTAS) (MANH) (MSFT) Higher; (ZFGN) (DFS) (IBKR) Lower (more...)

July 19, 2016 6:01 PM EDT

After-Hours Stocks Movers

Zafgen (NASDAQ: ZFGN) 41.8% LOWER; to Suspend Beloranib Development; Will Refocus on MetAP2 Inhibitor ZGN-1061

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG) 6.7% HIGHER; reported Q2 EPS of $5.62, $0.65 better than the analyst estimate of $4.97. Revenue for the quarter came in at $670 million versus the consensus estimate of $640.69 million.

Blackhawk Network Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAWK)... More

Cloud business boosts Microsoft's quarterly revenue, shares rise

July 19, 2016 4:16 PM EDT

By Deborah M. Todd

(Reuters) - Sharp growth in its commercial cloud computing business helped lift Microsoft Corp's (NASDAQ: MSFT) quarterly revenue above Wall Street's expectations, sending the technology company's shares up more than 4 percent in after-hours trading.

The new and growing cloud business - essentially selling computing services and storage in its data centers to corporate customers - is one of the priorities for Chief Executive Satya Nadella, who took the helm of the world's largest software company in early 2014

Nadella has refocused the company on cloud and mobile... More

Microsoft (MSFT) Tops Q4 EPS by 11c

July 19, 2016 4:05 PM EDT

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) reported Q4 EPS of $0.69, $0.11 better than the analyst estimate of $0.58. Revenue for the quarter came in at $22.6 billion versus the consensus estimate of $22.14 billion.

This past year was pivotal in both our own transformation and in partnering with our customers who are navigating their own digital transformations, said Satya Nadella, chief executive officer at Microsoft. The Microsoft Cloud is seeing significant customer momentum and were well positioned to reach new opportunities in the year ahead.

... More

Notes From Microsoft (MSFT) Expert Call With Mary Jo Foley - UBS

July 19, 2016 2:56 PM EDT

UBS analyst, Brent Thill, hosted a call with Mary Jo Foley, a Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) expert covering the company for 2+ decades. During the call she helped recap last week's WW Partner Conference and provide an ongoing update around the company. The annual partner conference was highlighted by a newfound emphasis on Dynamics,... More

Microsoft (MSFT) July weekly 53.50 straddle priced for 4.4% movement into Q4

July 19, 2016 12:17 PM EDT

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S&P pulls back from record; Dow notches eighth day of gains

July 19, 2016 7:44 AM EDT

By Lewis Krauskopf

(Reuters) - The S&P 500 pulled back from record highs on Tuesday, while the Dow industrials edged up for an eighth straight day of gains, as investors digested mixed earnings reports amid lowered expectations for global economic growth.

Netflix's (NASDAQ: NFLX) disappointing quarterly results weighed on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, while Johnson & Johnson's (NYSE: JNJ) strong earnings and forecast helped prop up the Dow.

The International Monetary Fund cut its global growth forecasts for the next two years, citing uncertainty over... More

William Blair Starts Microsoft (MSFT) at Market Perform

July 18, 2016 4:29 PM EDT

William Blair initiates coverage on Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) with a Market Perform rating.

Analyst Jason Ader said the company is well positioned in the cloud and they see improving growth for all three of Microsoft's business segments: Productivity and Business Processes (28% of sales in fiscal 2015, major... More

Trading Radar for 7/19: Microsoft (MSFT), Goldman Sachs (GS), J&J (JNJ), UnitedHealth (UNH), United Air (UAL), Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) Report

July 18, 2016 2:30 PM EDT

The Trading Radar highlights key earnings and economic announcements for the next trading session:

Before Markets Open:
Economics:
8:30am EDT

Building Permits - Street sees 1.150MHousing Starts - Street sees 1.165M

Earnings:

Belden (NYSE: BDC) - consensus EPS $1.26
Comerica (NYSE: CMA) - consensus EPS $0.69
Ericsson (Nasdaq: ERIC) - consensus EPS $0.12
Genuine Parts (NYSE: GPC) - consensus EPS... More

Streetinsider.com's Hot Lunchtime Reads 7/18: (FCAU) (OMEX) (NVDA) (NFLX)

July 18, 2016 12:17 PM EDT

The following is a list of notable articles to help get you through the lunch hour:Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) Said to Face U.S. Justice Department Inquiry Over Fraud Allegations ->... More

Microsoft (MSFT) Says Xbox One S Will Become Available in Select Regions Starting Aug. 2nd

July 18, 2016 11:55 AM EDT

Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) posted the following to ts Xbox blog on Monday:

Last month, we revealed a new member of the Xbox One family, the Xbox One S. Today, were excited to announce that the highly-anticipated 2TB Xbox One S launch edition will begin hitting shelves in select regions on August 2. That means that all pre-orders will arrive on August 2 and, for those of you that... More

Trimble (TRMB), CSCEC Group 1 Collaborate on Usage of Mixed-Reality Technology

July 18, 2016 6:36 AM EDT

Trimble (Nasdaq: TRMB) and CSCEC No. 1 Building Group Corporation Limited (CSCEC Group 1), one of the largest building contractors in China and a world-leading engineering and construction firm, announced that they are collaborating to explore the applications of mixed-reality technology in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry. As part of Trimble's Mixed-Reality Pilot Program, CSCEC Group 1 is the first organization in China to use Microsoft HoloLens and Trimble Mixed-Reality solutions.

A new generation of mixed-reality tools from Trimble, integrated with... More