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☆ Wall Street remains confident on Microsoft's AI story despite weak guidance. Some say to buy the dip
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-31 | by ( Pia Singh | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Wall Street's bullish sentiment on Microsoft hasn't faded, even after the tech giant forecast disappointing revenue growth numbers. The company's revenue increased 16% year over year in the quarter, and its net income rose 11% during the period compared to the year-ago quarter. That forecast led shares to slip nearly 4% in premarket trading, despite the company's strong earnings performance. That would be the company's fastest ever AI-related revenue growth rate. Barclays, which has one of the lowest price objectives on Wall Street, said it sees Microsoft shares being "range bound" in the short term.

Persons: Morgan Stanley —, Bernstein, Morgan Stanley, Keith Weiss, Weiss, Kirk Materne, Materne, Raimo Lenschow Organizations: Microsoft, LSEG, JPMorgan, Bank of America, Barclays, Citi, 25X, Investors Locations: Wells

☆ Oracle gave a glimpse of the power AI has on its business. Where investors should look next
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-15 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

For the past three years, software stocks have suffered as revenue growth softened, and investors remain skeptical about when it will return. For Oracle, that's its cloud infrastructure — a service that has improved Oracle's fundamental growth story, Walravens argued. This strategic move positioned Oracle as a key player in AI, fueling growth in its infrastructure as a services (IaaS) business. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure is central to this growth, offering a suite of services for AI-driven workloads. SAP YTD mountain SAP stock performance year-to-date.

Persons: Raimo Lenschow, Pat Walravens, Walravens, Bernstein, Mark Moerdler, tailwinds, Goldman Sachs, Amy Hood, it's, Keith Bachman, Bachman Organizations: Oracle, Nvidia, Barclays, Investors, Software, Services, Microsoft, SAP, Citizens, CNBC, Google, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, Microsoft Microsoft, AI Services, Wall, BMO

The firm upgraded the ingredients maker to buy from neutral but lowered its price target to $48 per share from $50. "Though these items might not help earnings until 2025, we believe visibility surrounding them could improve in coming months and send the share price higher," he added. Lovallo has a $198 price target for Lennar, reflecting 30.1% in upside. Analyst Raimo Lenschow upgraded the marketing automation stock to overweight from equal weight and upped his price target by $4 to $29. Singlehurst raised her price target to $58 from $54.20, but the new forecast implies nearly 2% downside from Tuesday's close.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Thomas Palmer, — Brian Evans, Edward Jones, Logan Purk, — Jesse Pound, John Lovallo, Lovallo, — Alex Harring, Oppenheimer, Colin Rusch, Rusch, Alex Bradley, Alex Harring, Raimo Lenschow, Lenschow, Wells, Steven Cahall, Wedbush, Michael Pachter, Pachter, Keith Gill, Piper Sandler, Valvoline Piper Sandler, Peter Keith, Keith, VVV's algo, hasn't, Will Gaertner, Gaertner, Morgan Stanley, Mark Murphy, Keith Weiss, Brent Bracelin, Louise Singlehurst, Singlehurst, Fred Imbert Organizations: CNBC, Analysts, Citi, Diamond Green Diesel, AMD, Devices, Nvidia, UBS, Lennar, KB, Barclays, Wells Fargo, Paramount, GameStop, Products, LSEG, Google, AI, JPMorgan, Oracle Locations: California, Tuesday's, VVV, reaccelerate, ORCL

Microsoft and a major chemical stock were among Friday's biggest analyst calls. He also lowered his price target by $1 to $25, which implies shares can fall roughly 19% from Thursday's close. Sandler increased his price target by $27 to $200, which implies 26.6% potential upside. JPMorgan: Analyst Mark Murphy added $30 to his price target, which is now at $470. He also hiked his price target to $61 from $55, which implies upside of 8% going forward.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Mobileye, Adam Jonas, Jonas, — Pia Singh, Stifel, Stanley Elliot, Elliott, Alphabet's, Oppenheimer, Jason Helfstein, Ross Sandler, Sandler, Brent Thill, Google's, Justin Post, Post, Wall, Raimo Lenschow, Wells, Michael Turrin, MSFT, Turrin, Mark Murphy, Murphy, Keith Weiss, Weiss, Jeffrey Zekauskas, Zekauskas, Dow, Fred Imbert Organizations: CNBC, Microsoft, JPMorgan, Dow Inc, TAM, Caterpillar, Google, Barclays, –, Jefferies, Bank of America, DOW Locations: Israel, Thursday's, reaccelerate, Wells Fargo

Meanwhile, Canaccord Genuity initiated Coty with a buy rating and a price target that implied more than 30% upside. The firm initiated coverage of the restaurant chain stock with an equal weight rating and a $58 per share price target. The firm upgraded shares of the health technology company to buy from hold in a Sunday note and increased its target price to $178 from $140. The firm downgraded the computer peripherals maker to underweight from equal weight and lowered its price target to $75 per share from $85. The firm initiated coverage of the online forum stock with an equal weight rating and a $45 per share price target.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Canaccord Genuity, Coty, Cava's, Jeffrey A, Bernstein, — Brian Evans, Jensen Huang, Atif Malik, Raimo Lenschow, Brian Evans, Masimo, MASI, Rick Wise, Logitech Morgan Stanley, Morgan Stanley's, Erik Woodring, Reddit, Morgan, Brian Nowak, Nowak, Canaccord, Susan Anderson, Anderson, COTY, Fred Imbert Organizations: CNBC, Barclays, Cava, Citi, Nvidia Citi, Nvidia, NVIDIA, Microsoft, Logitech, Coty, COTY Locations: Friday's, Cava, Taiwan, U.S

☆ Oracle's Larry Ellison thinks every government will want to build a 'sovereign' AI cloud in the future
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-07 | by ( Michelle Castillo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Oracle, which works with Nvidia and Microsoft on generative AI capabilities, has already helped use cloud tech to cut red tape for countries. For the first time, we're beginning to win business for countries," Ellison said. Countries including Serbia are standardizing on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and using generative AI for processes like automating health care. Cloud and generative AI applications allowing countries to give rural areas internet access could increase educational opportunities and create more economic value. "There's the 'Black Mirror' bad side of it: Big Brother, data wars, AI warfare and all that stuff," Garder said.

Persons: Raimo Lenschow, Ellison, Oracle's Larry Ellison, it's, Elon Musk's, you've, we've, Dan Gardner, Tapan Parikh, Parikh, Garder, Gardner, Simone Bohnenberger, It's, Bohnenberger, there's Organizations: Oracle, Barclays, EU, Nvidia, Microsoft, European, Amazon, Department of Defense, Google, Infrastructure, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, Cornell University, U.S Locations: Serbia, Albania, European Union, Kenya, Rwanda, U.S, China, TikTok

☆ Microsoft could be sitting on a $50 billion advertising opportunity, Barclays says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Advertising cold be an additional source of growth that brings in tens of billions of dollars to Microsoft , according to Barclays. Microsoft can be a long-term challenger to existing advertising giants in the technology sector, Lenschow said. Beyond that, he said another $20 billion could get added to the top-line if Microsoft improves distribution. MSFT YTD mountain Microsoft, year to date With acquisitions of advertising technology companies like PromoteIQ and Xanadr, Microsoft can obtain greater exposure to higher-growth digital areas such as connected TV and retail media, Barclays believes. "This holistic ad-tech stack serves as a unique value proposition for Microsoft, and mirrors the transformation of similar advertising mainstays," Lenschow said.

Persons: Raimo Lenschow, Lenschow, Microsoft's Organizations: Microsoft, Barclays, Bing, Google, of Justice, European Union, PlayStation Locations: Redmond, Washington, European

☆ Here's the magnitude of AI's effect on Microsoft's bottom line and what it means for the stock
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft seemed to pass Wall Street's latest test when it demonstrated its ability to monetize artificial intelligence. The action came a day after Microsoft issued light guidance but delivered a top-and-bottom line beat and strong AI-focused commentary. Wall Street analysts across the board regarded Microsoft's results as an affirmation of its AI leadership position. Piper Sandler's Brent Bracelin said in a Tuesday note that the results "reinforced Microsoft's first-mover advantage in AI applications." Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs analyst Kash Rangan called the company one of the "most compelling" opportunities across sectors, viewing AI as a major boon for an "already strong growth profile."

Persons: Brent Thill, Satya Nadella, Amy Hood, Morgan Stanley's Keith Weiss, Piper Sandler's Brent Bracelin, Goldman Sachs, Kash Rangan, Mark Murphy, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Microsoft, Barclays, Raimo, Wall Street

Thursday's early calls featured a retail upgrade and an EV charging stock downgrade. The analyst reiterated his buy rating and $450 price target on the stock. Microsoft's AI cybersecurity solution Security Copilot, which was only recently expanded through an early access program on Oct. 19, already has tons of pent-up interest, Thill said. The firm downgraded shares from neutral to underperform and lowered its price target on the stock by $17 to $43. He gave the stock a $50 price target — $13 higher from the previous one — which implies 23.1% upside for shares since Wednesday's close.

Persons: Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Kash Rangan, Rangan, Maia, Brent Thill, Thill, Vivek Arya, Arya, Raimo, Microsoft's, — Pia Singh, Elizabeth Suzuki, Vijay Rakesh, Rakesh, Vikram Bagri, Bagri, Fred Imbert, Edward Kelly, Kelly Organizations: CNBC, Citi, Microsoft's Ignite, Jefferies, Microsoft, Bank of America, Nvidia, Devices, Barclays, Advance, AAP, Mizuho, Intel, Mizuho Securities, Foundry, Foundry Services, Sapphire, Sierra, AMD, Wells Locations: Seattle, U.S, Wells Fargo, Wednesday's

☆ Microsoft shares rise as Wall Street heralds ‘strong execution,’ wider AI rollout
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The company also beat revenue consensus among analysts surveyed by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv. Microsoft reported revenue of $56.52 billion for the quarter, compared to a consensus estimate of $54.50 billion. Zelnick raised his price target from $380 to $395, adding that "operating discipline" and "a full-stack approach to delivering AI solutions" was just as, if not more impressive, than Microsoft's revenue beat. Azure revenue alone, which Microsoft doesn't disclose in dollars, grew 29% during the quarter. Comments from Microsoft executives helped boost analyst sentiment as well, with Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood saying on a Tuesday call with analysts, "We feel good about our execution, we feel good about taking share and we feel good about consistent trends."

Persons: Brad Zelnick, Zelnick, Raimo Lenschow, Microsoft's, Lenschow, Amy Hood, Jordan Novet, Michael Bloom Organizations: Microsoft, LSEG, Deutsche Bank, Software, Barclays, CNBC

☆ Wall Street may be overlooking a key AI investing area and these potential winners
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Wall Street may be underestimating the potential for one major investing area to underpin generative artificial intelligence models: data. Now, as Wall Street has begun evaluating the secondary and tertiary winners of this long fight, investors may want to search for the data companies that also could triumph. Finding the data winners Engineers rely on data to train AI models, improve their performance and create a productive and relevant technology used by millions of consumers. "Right now, AI for them is an expense because they've got to train the models," he said. The median Wall Street price target on Oracle implies about 24% upside for the stock, which has already jumped 28% in 2023.

Persons: Raimo Lenschow, Paul Meeks, they've, Meeks, Snowflake, Michael Bloom Organizations: Nvidia, Microsoft, Nasdaq, Barclays, Solutions Wealth Management, Oracle, ServiceNow, Intuit, Companies, HSBC Locations: Salesforce

☆ Barclays says buy this software stock with AI tailwinds
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Hakyung Kim | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Oracle shares have surged nearly 48% in 2023 and close to 62% over the past 12 months. Barclays thinks the company is set to maintain high levels of growth in the near future as its tailwinds have yet to fully take effect. "OCI, partly fueled by emerging AI workloads, will be key to the database and overall story." He added that OCI is well-positioned for an AI tailwind due to its close relationship with Nvidia. Oracle was also one of the first cloud solutions providers to enter the market with Nvidia's software as a service products, Lenschow added.

Persons: Raimo, Lenschow, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Oracle, Barclays, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, Nvidia

☆ Goldman Sachs sees Salesforce rallying more than 50% after strong earnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Salesforce 's latest earnings have Goldman Sachs even more excited for the tech stock's future. A day earlier, Salesforce reported fiscal second-quarter earnings and revenue that beat expectations , while also issuing better-than-forecasted guidance for the current quarter. Goldman Sachs analyst Kash Rangan raised his price target on Salesforce by $15 to $340 per share, implying upside of 58.1%. His price target would mark a continuation of this year's rally, with the stock already up more than 62% in 2023. "Salesforce delivered strong results, even despite the negative investor sentiment heading into the print," he said.

Persons: Salesforce, Goldman Sachs, Kash Rangan, Rangan, couldn't, Brad Sills, Brad Zelnick, Lenschow, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Microsoft, Adobe, Intuit, Autodesk, of America, Deutsche Bank Locations: CY24, reaccelerating

☆ Retail investors flock to small-cap AI firms as Big Tech battles for share
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Medha Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 7 (Reuters) - Retail investors are piling into small-cap firms that employ artificial intelligence amid intensifying competition between tech titans Google parent Alphabet and Microsoft to secure leadership in the next big driver of growth. The $3-billion AI software firm C3.ai was the fifth most actively traded on Fidelity's platform for small investors on Monday, while drawing record daily retail inflows worth $31.4 million, as per Vanda Research. "Small-cap firms have AI as a much larger part of their business than the larger ones," said Matthew Tuttle, chief executive officer of Tuttle Capital Management on the reason behind retail investors' focus on the smaller firms. SoundHound AI (SOUN.O), which offers a voice AI platform services, and Thailand's security firm Guardforce AI (GFAI.O) have more than doubled so far this year, while analytics firm BigBear.ai gained nine-fold in value. Google-owner Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) on Monday said it would launch a chatbot service Bard and more artificial intelligence for its search engine as well as developers.

☆ ChatGPT ignited a new A.I. craze. What it means for tech companies and who's best positioned to benefit
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Since the launch of ChatGPT late last year, no one in the tech world can seem to stop talking about artificial intelligence. CEO Sundar Pichai announced Thursday that the company will launch its LaMDA language model and new AI features "very soon ." But it's not just technology companies rethinking AI. We combed through earnings transcripts available through FactSet to find out what some of the biggest tech companies are saying about the latest craze and who could benefit the most. Preparing for an 'AI arms race' in tech There's no question that Microsoft stands to gain from ChatGPT and the AI push on Wall Street.

☆ Analysts are still bullish on Microsoft's long-term prospects but see more near-term headwinds
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Carmen Reinicke | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Still, most analysts covering Microsoft remained bullish on the company in the long-term. While a number of firms covering the tech company lowered their 12-month price targets, buy ratings for the tech giant remained intact. The firm reiterated its buy rating but cut its price target to $315 from $330 to reflect slower growth ahead. Lenschow maintained his overweight rating but lowered his price target to $296 per share from $310. The bank has a buy rating on Microsoft and a price target of $282 per share.

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