CFRA Reiterates Strong Buy Rating on Microsoft (MSFT), PT $490

Microsoft (MSFT) PT Lowered to $510 at UBS

UBS analyst Karl Kierstead lowered the price target on Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) to $510.00 (from $525.00) while maintaining a Buy rating.

He said, "Microsoft posted a weaker-than-expected quarter, marked by the company pulling its guidance for a 2H (Mar/Jun 2025) Azure acceleration, blaming sales... More

TD Cowen Reiterates Buy Rating on Microsoft (MSFT)

TD Cowen analyst J. Derrick Wood reiterated a Buy rating and $475.00 price target on Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT).

The analyst commented: "Consistent w/ our preview, results/guide were mixed, w/ softer than expected Azure trends, and shares were -5% AH. We were however... More

Stifel Reiterates Buy Rating on Microsoft (MSFT)

Stifel analyst Brad Reback reiterated a Buy rating and $515.00 price target on Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT).

He said, "A mixed print sent shares ~5% lower AHs as go-to-market execution issues within the core Azure business overshadowed better AzureAI performance, solid M365 results driven by E5 and Copilot... More

Microsoft commentary read-through to Bitcoin miners - Cantor Fitzgerald

Following Microsoft's earnings announcement Wednesday followed by management commentary, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Brett Knoblauch shared in a note with clients the implications for Bitcoin miners.

He said, "While MSFT stated it expects to reach equilibrium by the end of the year, it is also planning to have... More

RBC Capital on Microsoft (MSFT): 'We Would Be Buyers of Weakness'

RBC Capital analyst Kash Rangan reiterated an Outperform rating and $500.00 price target on Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT).

The analyst commented: "AI Monetization Advances Beyond Infrastructure; Microsoft reported mixed Azure results, leading shares down 5% after-hours. Revenue was decent outside of Azure, but F3Q... More

What Tesla, Meta, and Microsoft said about DeepSeek and AI spending

Here are all the crucial things Tesla, Meta and Microsoft CEOs and CFOs said on their Wednesday evening quarterly conference calls as it relates to Capex and DeepSeek's potential impact on future Capex budgets. The comments are important for AI players, including NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA), Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ: AVGO), Dell (NYSE: DELL), Super Micro Computer Inc (NASDAQ: SMCI), as well as many others.

China's DeepSeek took the world by storm this week by... More

Microsoft (MSFT) PT Lowered to $490 at BMO Capital on 'Disappointing Azure Trajectory'

BMO Capital analyst Keith Bachman lowered the price target on Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) to $490.00 (from $495.00) while maintaining an Outperform rating.

The analyst commented: "Disappointing Azure Trajectory; Azure growth for the December quarter came in below our/investor expectations, and the March quarter Azure... More

Piper Sandler on Microsoft (MSFT): 'Buy the Weakness'

Piper Sandler analyst Brent Bracelin reiterated an Overweight rating and $520.00 price target on Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT).

The analyst commented: "Buy the Weakness; Azure Consumption Tempers AI Upside; Capex Growth Has Peaked; There are few $160B+ run-rate business models (Microsoft Cloud +AI) growing 20%+... More

Microsoft (MSFT) PT Lowered to $475 at Wolfe Research, 'we continue to keep faith that the longterm AI payback will drive accelerating growth'

Wolfe Research analyst Alex Zukin lowered the price target on Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) to $475.00 (from $515.00) while maintaining a Outperform rating.

The analyst comments "Key Thoughts. It's hard to sugarcoat these results as hope fore 2H Azure acceleration and capex moderation got the kibosh, as ex-AI azure growth fell below 20% with no clear signals of a bottom while extremely strong AI bookings are still capacity-constrained limiting 2H AI Azure upside. Shares are likely range bound until such time as either... More

KeyBanc Reiterates Overweight Rating on Microsoft (MSFT) as DeepSeek Adds Pressure

KeyBanc analyst Jackson Ader reiterated an Overweight rating and $575.00 price target on Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT).

The analyst commented: "DeepSeek threw a real wrench into the proceedings this week. The stock is down and we are lowering our out-year estimates: the numbers in the most important segment were not goodbut tonight, in this critic's... More

Guggenheim Reiterates Neutral Rating on Microsoft (MSFT)

Guggenheim analyst John DiFucci reiterated a Neutral rating on Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT).

The analyst commented: " Microsoft reported disappointing F2Q results and guided F3Q revenue for all three business segments below Street estimates, even when adjusting for a greater FX headwind since estimates were established. Surprisingly, Azure growth of 31% cc was at the low end of guidance and about a percent below the consensus estimate. More surprising was the F3Q guidance of 31-32% cc (vs the Street at 34% cc) and the... More

Microsoft (MSFT) PT Lowered to $511 at Bernstein as 'Core Azure Disappoints'

Bernstein SocGen Group analyst Mark Moerdler lowered the price target on Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) to $511.00 (from $516.00) while maintaining an Outperform rating.

The analyst commented: "Delivering on AI, Copilots and CAPEX but core Azure disappoints; We have all seen complex / mixed quarters... More

Microsoft (MSFT) PT Lowered to $500 at Mizuho

Mizuho analyst Gregg Moskowitz lowered the price target on Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) to $500.00 (from $510.00) while maintaining a Outperform rating.

The analyst comments "However, Azure revenue growth of 31% Y/Y CC was at the low end of mgmt's guided range (+31%-32%), as MSFT's... More

Goldman Sachs Reiterates Buy Rating on Microsoft (MSFT)

Goldman Sachs analyst Kash Rangan reiterated a Buy rating and $500.00 price target on Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT)

The analyst comments "We maintain our Buy rating and $500 price target on Microsoft after a mixed F2Q25 report. The ongoing concerns regarding the cadence of Azure growth remain significant for investors, with the stock down 5% AH. Despite this, improvements in the other two pillars for the stock -... More

JPMorgan Reiterates Overweight Rating on Microsoft (MSFT)

JPMorgan analyst Mark Murphy reiterated an Overweight rating and $465.00 price target on Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT).

The analyst comments "As a reminder, our recent Microsoft partner survey and preview flagged a specific concern on near-term Azure growth in the upcoming March & June quarters, as partners saw a 30-31% near-term Azure trajectory, which was unfortunately below consensus of 33-34% Azure CC growth, and concerning because our survey has a long history of differentiated predictive value. Microsoft guides FQ3 (March) Azure growth to 31-32% CC, below consensus, which will translate to 29.5% growth in USD.... More

Morgan Stanley Defending on Microsoft (MSFT): 'Investors Still Climbing the Wall of Worry – But We Feel Better About the Ascent'

Morgan Stanley analyst Keith Weiss lowered the price target on Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) to $530.00 (from $540.00) while maintaining a Overweight rating.

The analyst comments "Investors Still Climbing the Wall of Worry But We Feel Better About the Ascent. As discussed in our preview, investor sentiment... More

DA Davidson on Microsoft (MSFT): 'No Acceleration for Azure, Capex Going Higher'

DA Davidson analyst Gil Luria reiterated a Neutral rating and $425.00 price target on Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT)

The analyst comments "We maintain our NEUTRAL rating and $425 price target following 2Q25 earnings that were underscored by a continued deceleration of Azure growth despite... More

BofA Securities Defending on Microsoft (MSFT): 'Remains a rare AI winner in both apps & infrastructure'

BofA Securities analyst Brad Sills reiterated a Buy rating and $510.00 price target on Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT)

The analyst comments "Remains a rare AI winner in both apps & infrastructure. In summary, GPU/CPU shipment delays that had impacted H1 appear to be stabilizing. With... More

Citi Reiterates Buy Rating on ServiceNow (NOW)

Citi analyst Tyler Radke reiterated a Buy rating and $1,432.00 price target on ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW).

The analyst comments "ServiceNows skinnier Q4 beat and underwhelming guidance likely hurts the stock, but we dont think its thesis-changing , particularly with the companys... More

Futures higher; tech earnings in focus; Fed decision - what's moving markets

Investing.com - U.S. stock futures climb following fresh quarterly reports from a slew of Big Tech companies, including Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META). Executives at these firms back a spike in artificial intelligence spending despite worries over the strategy in the wake of the emergence of a cut-price Chinese AI model earlier this week. Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) aims to reduce costs and roll out a new, cheaper electric vehicle this year to combat flagging demand,... More

NVIDIA stock gains after-hours as tech giants continue to pour money into AI

NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) stock gained 2% after-hours Wednesday after large clients Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) pointed to continued investment in AI infrastructure with their quarterly results.

"We remain committed to... More

Microsoft's cloud outlook knocks shares, Meta rises on AI payoff signs

By Deborah Mary Sophia and Joel Jose

(Reuters) -Investors punished Microsoft with a 6% share drop on Thursday as hefty AI bets failed to drive a big increase in its cloud revenue, while Meta rose 4% after CEO Mark Zuckerberg assured Wall Street about growth with promises of a "really big year".

The chief executives of both the companies defended their heavy investments on artificial intelligence on Wednesday, days after Chinese upstart DeepSeek unveiled a breakthrough in cheap AI that shook the technology industry.

But while Meta has consistently showed strong ad revenues - a move that "easily justifies"... More

Microsoft (MSFT) PT Lowered to $490 at BMO Capital

BMO Capital analyst Keith Bachman lowered the price target on Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) to $490.00 (from $495.00) while maintaining a Outperform rating.

The analyst comments: "Azure growth for the December quarter came in below our/investor expectations, and the March quarter Azure guide is likewise... More

Softbank In Talks To Invest Up To $25b Directly Into Openai- FT

Softbank In Talks To Invest Up To $25b Directly Into Openai- FT

After-hours movers: Microsoft, Tesla, Lam Research, Meta Platforms

After-hours movers:

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) fell 0.7% despite reporting quarterly results that beat estimates on the top and bottom like, after its cloud revenue trailed estimates.

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) shares were... More

Microsoft delivers Q2 beat, but soft Azure growth weighs

Investing.com -- Microsoft fell in afterhours trading Wednesday after the tech giant's fiscal second-quarter results beat Wall Street estimates, but growth in its key cloud business fell short of expectations.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) fell more than 3% in afterhours trading... More

Microsoft shares slide as cloud forecast, AI spending disappoint

By Stephen Nellis and Deborah Mary Sophia

(Reuters) -Microsoft on Wednesday forecast disappointing growth in its cloud computing business, sending its shares down 4.5% in after-hours trading as investors worry about big spending, elusive artificial intelligence revenue and competition from cheaper AI models from China.

Azure results for the fiscal second quarter also fell below Wall Street expectations. Despite beating quarterly overall sales estimates, investors want better results from the hundreds of billions of dollars that Wall Street heavyweights have been spending to build AI data centers and infuse their products with the emerging technology.

Chinese rivals... More

Microsoft (MSFT) Tops Q2 EPS by 10c

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) reported Q2 EPS of $3.23, $0.10 better than the analyst estimate of $3.13. Revenue for the quarter came in at $69.6 billion versus the consensus estimate of $68.92 billion.

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

Microsoft (MSFT): DeepSeek R1 is Now Available on Azure AI Foundry and GitHub

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT): DeepSeek R1 is Now Available on Azure AI Foundry and GitHub

Wedbush weighs in ahead of Meta, Tesla, and Microsoft earnings, focus on capex

Investing.com -- Tech giants Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Meta (NASDAQ: META), and Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) are set to report their earnings after the bell, with investors closely watching AI-related capital... More

Microsoft (MSFT): Investigating Microsoft 365 issues

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT): Were investigating an issue in which users may be unable to access the admin center, or some Microsoft 365 services. Further information can be found at https://status.cloud.microsoft, or under MO991872 if the admin center is accessible to you.

NVIDIA stock back under pressure as DeepSeek questions persist

After recovering partially from Monday's 17% rout on Tuesday, NVIDIA's (NASDAQ: NVDA) stock is back in the red again Wednesday as investors continue to assess the impact of DeepSeek's AI model on the AI chip giant's future prospects.

Shares of NVIDIA are down 4.5% heading into the noon hour on Wall Street after rallying back nearly 9% on Tuesday.

Overall, while... More

Microsoft (MSFT) call put ratio 1.3 calls to 1 put into quarter results

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) January 31 weekly call option implied volatility is at 72, February is at 40; compared to its 52-week range of 16 to 35 into the expected release of quarter results today after the bell. Call put ratio 1.3 calls to 1 put.

DeepSeek's chatbot achieves 17% accuracy, trails Western rivals in NewsGuard audit

(Reuters) - Chinese AI startup DeepSeek's chatbot achieved only 17% accuracy in delivering news and information in a NewsGuard audit that ranked it tenth out of eleven in a comparison with its Western competitors including OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google Gemini.

The chatbot repeated false claims 30% of the time and gave vague or not useful answers 53% of the time in response to news-related prompts, resulting in an 83% fail rate, according to a report published by trustworthiness rating service NewsGuard on Wednesday.

That was worse... More

Cantor Fitzgerald Reiterates Overweight Rating on Microsoft (MSFT)

Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Thomas Blakey reiterated an Overweight rating and $509.00 price target on Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT).

He said, "We are previewing Microsoft earnings ahead of F2Q25 earnings results set for Wednesday, January 29th. The earnings print comes amid a flurry of news surrounding infrastructure spending from the Trump... More

Bernstein on DeepSeek: 'Where and Why Could it Impact Software?'

Bernstein analyst Mark L. Moerdler examines DeepSeeks potential impact on the software industry, exploring both the technological implications and market reactions.

The analyst commented: "This past weekend social media exploded with discussions on the ramification of the latest DeepSeek Generative AI models. Yesterday, I was one of three Bernstein analysts on what was likely the most attended single webinar in Bernstein history. The stock market roiled and many Gen AI beneficiaries (and not just tech names) were down and in some cases down meaningfully as investors reacted to the possibility that a small Chinese startup lacking access to... More

Microsoft (MSFT) call put ratio 2.4 calls to 1 put into quarter results

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) January 31 weekly 447.5 straddle priced for movement of 4.5% into the expected release of quarter results today after the bell.

Tech earnings ahead, Fed decision, ASML reports - what's moving markets

Investing.com - Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures ticked up on Wednesday, after stock markets stabilized in the prior session in the wake of sharp declines earlier in the week that were inspired by a new Chinese AI model. Several Big Tech names are set to publish quarterly results after the closing bell, while traders will also be keeping an eye on a Federal Reserve interest rate announcement. Meanwhile, Dutch chipmaker ASML (AS:ASML) reports solid demand in the fourth quarter and luxury goods titan LVMH unveils disappointing sales growth.

1. Nasdaq, S&P futures... More

Alibaba releases AI model it claims surpasses DeepSeek-V3

By Eduardo Baptista

BEIJING (Reuters) -Chinese tech company Alibaba on Wednesday released a new version of its Qwen 2.5 artificial intelligence model that it claimed surpassed the highly-acclaimed DeepSeek-V3.

The unusual timing of the Qwen 2.5-Max's release, on the first day of the Lunar New Year when most Chinese people are off work and with their families, points to the pressure Chinese AI startup DeepSeek's meteoric rise in the past three weeks has placed on not just overseas rivals, but also its domestic competition.

"Qwen 2.5-Max outperforms ... almost across the board GPT-4o, DeepSeek-V3 and... More

Microsoft (MSFT) Probing If Deepseek-linked Group Obtained Openai Data - Bloomberg

Microsoft Probing If Deepseek-linked Group Obtained Openai Data - Bloomberg

JPMorgan on DeepSeek: 'we think the development is not a major negative and could instead lead to new opportunities longer term'

JPMorgan on DeepSeek: 'we think the development is not a major negative and could instead lead to new opportunities longer term'

The analyst comments "Various concerns have spread in the market since DeepSeek launched its R1 AI model in China last week. DeepSeek is said to have been able to build R1 with performance... More

Microsoft stock: Top 5 most interesting topics Piper Sandler is closely monitoring

Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) AI revenue could surpass $10 billion in just two years, highlighting its first-mover advantage in artificial intelligence, according to Piper Sandler.

Analysts see the milestone as proof of Microsofts ability to monetize AI at scale, with triple-digit growth driven by widespread enterprise adoption.

Ahead of its earnings report on January 29, Piper Sandler... More

Active options: MSFT GOOGL TSM MU MSTR MARA CORZ RIOT

Active options: MSFT GOOGL TSM MU MSTR MARA CORZ RIOT

Sam Altman: next phase of the msft x oai partnership is gonna be much better than anyone is ready for!!

Sam Altman: next phase of the msft x oai partnership is gonna be much better than anyone is ready for!!

NVIDIA stock bounces back after 'deep' sell-off

(Updated - January 28, 2025 4:39 PM EST)

NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) shares bounced back strongly Tuesday following Mondays DeepSeek-related sell-off, which whipped out a record $589 billion in market value in the AI chip giant. Shares of NVIDIA closed up 8.8% as analysts across Wall Street came out to defend the stock, and investors bought the dip.

Wall Street analysts called upon NVIDIA investors to take a DeepBreath, with some labeling Chinas AI phenom as a DeepFake.

DeepSeek sent shockwaves in the industry Monday after it claimed to have built its AI model for less than... More

Microsoft (MSFT) call put ratio 2.2 calls to 1 put into quarter results

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) January 31 weekly call option implied volatility is at 55, February is at 27; compared to its 52-week range of 16 to 35 into the expected release of quarter results after the bell on January 29. Call put ratio 2.2 calls to 1 put.

RBC's Early Thoughts on DeepSeek Implications for Software: 'A Buying Opportunity'

RBC Capital analyst Rishi Jaluria shared initial thoughts on DeepSeek's emerging success, highlighting potential implications for companies like MSFT and ORCL.

The analysts commented: "Following media reports (Reuters), that DeepSeek's AI assistant overtook ChatGPT to become the top-rated free application in the Apple App Store, several tech names traded sharply lower in pre-market trading. Notably, the company's reasoning models which have been opensourced, have caused fears of encroachment on domestic, commercialized models. The report indicates its reasoning capabilities have outperformed top US-based commercial models. Shares of Nvidia fell 16%, Oracle fell 12%, Microsoft fell 4% (vs. IGV down 1% as of... More

Truist Favors Microsoft (MSFT) Ahead of 4Q24 Earnings Report

Truist Securities analyst Joel P. Fishbein Jr reiterated a Buy rating and $600.00 price target on Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT).

The analyst commented: "We favor high quality names in our coverage going into the print, including Buy-rated TEAM & MSFT both reporting this week as we believe the price for... More

Apple "well-positioned" to benefit from AI despite DeepSeek emergence, Baird says

Investing.com - Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is less exposed to the emergence of DeepSeek's artificial intelligence model than its other Big Tech rivals who have invested heavily in building out their AI capabilities, according to analysts at Baird.

In a note to clients, the analysts argued that the iPhone maker, as a "leading" manufacturer of consumer-facing products, is "well-positioned" to benefit from so-called generative AI "without spending tens of billions of dollars on [large language models] or... More

Microsoft's cloud growth in focus as doubts grow over AI spending

By Aditya Soni

(Reuters) - Microsoft has spent months touting a rebound in its Azure cloud business and its quarterly revenue forecast on Wednesday will show whether billion-dollar bets on artificial intelligence are propelling increased growth in its main profit engine.

The software company emerged as a front-runner in Big Tech's AI race last year thanks to its early bet on OpenAI, but investor doubts have been growing about its ability to make money from the technology that it plans to back with about $80 billion in capital spending this fiscal year.

Azure growth has slowed for... More

Nvidia, chip stocks jump after Monday selloff

Investing.com -- Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) and other chip stocks are gaining in premarket trading Tuesday, poised to recover some of the losses from Mondays sharp sell-off.

Nvidia shares jumped nearly 5%, while Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) climbed 4% and AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) added 1.6%. Other semiconductor stocks also saw gains, with Micron (NASDAQ: MU) up 2.5%, TSMC rising 2.6%, and Marvell Technology Inc (NASDAQ: MRVL) advancing 3.6%. Nasdaq 100 futures followed suit, gaining about... More

Nvidia, chip stocks jump after Monday selloff

Investing.com -- Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) and other chip stocks are gaining in premarket trading Tuesday, poised to recover some of the losses from Mondays sharp sell-off.

Nvidia shares jumped nearly 5%, while Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) climbed 4% and AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) added 1.6%. Other semiconductor stocks also saw gains, with Micron (NASDAQ: MU) up 2.5%, TSMC rising 2.6%, and Marvell Technology Inc (NASDAQ: MRVL) advancing 3.6%. Nasdaq 100 futures followed suit, gaining about... More

Nasdaq futures up after sell-off; Nvidia rises after-hours - what's moving markets

Investing.com - Nasdaq futures inched up on Tuesday, after a steep sell-off in technology stocks in the prior session that stemmed from concerns over the impact of the success of Chinese firm DeepSeeks low-cost AI model on Big Tech spending plans. Shares in Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) edged higher in extended hours trading after the AI-darlings stock price plummeted on Monday. Elsewhere, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks out on DeepSeeks model, calling it "impressive".

1. Nasdaq futures point higher after China AI model sparks steep sell-off

DeepSeek r1’s breakthrough likely to benefit software stocks: Citi

Investing.com -- The breakthrough in AI technology by Chinese startup DeekSeek's r1 model has the potential to benefit the software sector, Citi analysts said.

DeepSeek's "test-time scaling law" achieves AI efficiency at a fraction of the cost compared to OpenAI. This raised questions about the sky-high capital expenditures (capex) across hyperscalers including the recently announced Stargate Investment, and led to a sharp sell-off in global technology stocks.

However, according to Citi, the breakthrough could potentially mark a pivotal moment for AI-enabled software applications.

Citi likens DeepSeek's advancement to the way public cloud technology once... More

Microsoft (MSFT) call put ratio 1.8 calls to 1 put into quarter results

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) January 31 weekly 435 straddle priced for movement of 4.5% into the expected release of quarter results after the bell on January 29.

Active options: MU MSTR GOOGL BABA SMCI MSFT MARA ORCL CORZ INTC

Active options: MU MSTR GOOGL BABA SMCI MSFT MARA ORCL CORZ INTC

Piper Sandler Reiterates Overweight Rating on Microsoft (MSFT)

Piper Sandler analyst Brent Bracelin reiterated an Overweight rating and $520.00 price target on Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT)

The analyst comments: "Microsoft AI revenue could eclipse the $10B+ milestone in the short span of two years, reinforcing the value of a first-mover advantage... More

UBS Reiterates Buy Rating on Microsoft (MSFT)

UBS analyst Karl Kierstead reiterated a Buy rating and $525.00 price target on Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT)

The analyst comments: "In our judgement, the very modest -2% impact on Microsoft shares (one of the very few large-cap tech firms that was spared) felt about right, as... More