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☆ Microsoft's market value soared as much as $154 billion in just a day. That nearly matched Jeff Bezos' entire fortune.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Joseph Wilkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft gained as much as $154 billion in market cap in a single day after unveiling the Copilot subscription service. The tech giant is poised to become the second company ever to reach a $3 trillion valuation, according to Morgan Stanley. That saw its market cap balloon by as much as the above-mentioned figure during intraday trades, before ending the session with a $102 billion increase. Amazon founder Bezos' wealth totaled $157 billion as of Tuesday, according to the Bloomberg billionaires index. Their combined value now stands at an eye-watering $11 trillion – which, to offer another comparison, is nearly triple the GDP of Germany.

Persons: Jeff Bezos's, Morgan Stanley, Jeff Bezos, Bezos, OpenAI's, Tesla, Morgan Stanley's Keith Weiss Organizations: Microsoft, Service, Bloomberg, Apple, Nvidia Locations: Wall, Silicon, OpenAI, Germany

☆ This software stock more than doubled on the back of A.I. mania. Here's why Wall Street expects the rally to fade
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Shares of Palantir have surged 181% this year as investors bet on its potential in the booming artificial intelligence race. The company, founded in 2003, is already making strides in AI, even lending its tools to hospitals . In its latest earnings release in early May, CEO Alex Karp called demand for Palantir's AI platform, which allows commercial and government sectors to use LLMs with their own private data, "without precedent." While some analysts see promise in Palantir's AI capabilities, many remain cautious on the immediate profit contribution of the technology and view the stock as ripe for a pullback. In a note to clients in May, Morgan Stanley's Keith Weiss noted that the rally in Palantir shares and premium valuation creates an unfavorable near-term risk-reward.

Persons: Palantir, Alex Karp, Malik Ahmed Khan, Davidson's Gil Luria, Raymond James, Brian Gesuale, Morgan Stanley's Keith Weiss, Karp, Morningstar's Khan, Mizuho's Matthew Broome, Davidson's Luria, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Wall, Nvidia, billings Locations: Denver

☆ Microsoft confirms more job cuts on top of 10,000 layoffs announced in January
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Microsoft confirmed Monday that it's eliminating additional jobs, a week after the start of its 2024 fiscal year. The cuts are in addition to the downsizing announced in January that resulted in 10,000 layoffs. The software maker also disclosed a small number of cuts this time last year. GeekWire reported on the latest cuts earlier Monday. A Microsoft spokesperson declined to specify the number of cuts in the latest round.

Persons: GeekWire, Satya Nadella, Morgan Stanley's Keith Weiss Organizations: Microsoft, Google Locations: Washington

☆ Microsoft could soar 22% and will top a $3 trillion valuation as it's best positioned to monetize generative AI, Morgan Stanley says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft stock is poised to top a $3 trillion valuation in early 2024 as it is best positioned to monetize generative AI, according to Morgan Stanley. "Microsoft likely emerges as an early 'Picks and Shovels' beneficiary" of generative AI, Morgan Stanley said. The bank called Microsoft stock a "Top Pick" and said it has 22% upside potential from current levels thanks to its "pole position" in the generative AI race that should help it quickly monetize the growing trend. And investors should see the impact of AI on Microsoft's financials sooner rather than later as increased datasets flow into bigger revenues for Microsoft's Azure cloud service. And although Microsoft's stock is up about 40% year-to-date, its valuation isn't stretched based on historical averages, "despite the unrivaled Generative AI positioning," Weiss concluded.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, —, Morgan Stanley's Keith Weiss, Weiss Organizations: Microsoft, Service, Apple, OpenAI Locations: OpenAI

Morgan Stanley raised its Microsoft stock outlook to the highest on Wall Street, implying the company once famous for Windows software will climb above a market value of $3 trillion because of artificial intelligence. The generative AI boom has already helped propel Microsoft's stock by almost 41% year to date — and Morgan Stanley's new price target implies it will climb another 23% over the next 12 months. Weiss raised his price target on Microsoft by 24%, to $415 from $335. Morgan Stanley called Microsoft its top pick among large-cap software stocks on account of the company's strong positioning in the generative AI boom. MSFT YTD mountain Microsoft stock Weiss said Microsoft has taken a "leading position" providing the "picks and shovels" of the AI boom — large language models, data management and other technologies.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, —, Morgan, Keith Weiss, Weiss, FactSet, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Microsoft, Windows, Software, OpenAI

☆ Oracle's biggest critic, Goldman Sachs, admits it was wrong about rating the stock a sell
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Oracle reported a record-breaking $49.95 billion in annual revenue thanks to success in cloud computing. It has convinced its biggest critic, Goldman Sachs, to change its mind about its potential. And on Tuesday, Oracle's biggest critic, Goldman Sachs analyst Kash Rangan, admitted he was wrong. He did gracefully swallow his pride enough to admit that since he first imposed the sell rating, the stock has climbed 46%. And he's also got his eye on Oracle's cash situation, given how expensive it is to build and maintain data centers.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, there's, Oracle's, Kash Rangan, Rangan, he's, What's, Safra Catz, it's, Morgan, Keith Weiss, luke, Weiss Organizations: Oracle, Morning, Yahoo Finance, Microsoft

☆ Salesforce is developing a ton of new AI products that could lead to 'a massive new buying cycle' Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley analysts believe
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Salesforce could be leading it, with a giant list of new AI products in the works. And he told tale after tale of planned AI products. Morgan Stanley's Keith Weiss believes Salesforce's claims that AI has the potential to "spark a massive new buying cycle." Rangan tallied up 15 pending AI products from Salesforce. There will be five new AI products incorporated into the Marketing cloud to automate tasks ranging from personalized emails to analyzing engagement.

Persons: Salesforce, Marc Benioff, Claude, Goldman Sachs, Kash Rangan, Salesforce's, Einstein, Rangan, Morgan Stanley's Keith Weiss, Weiss Organizations: OpenAI, Salesforce Ventures, Google, Salesforce's, Slack, Products, Next

☆ AI startup cloud deals by Microsoft, Google and Amazon ring 'accounting alarm bells' across Silicon Valley over revenue 'round-tripping'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Eugene Kim | Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Some investors question whether these arrangements are artificially juicing cloud revenue growth. When Microsoft announced a multibillion-dollar investment in OpenAI earlier this year, the deal made Azure the ChatGPT-maker's "exclusive cloud provider." There's another deal in the works with similar attributes involving Runway AI and a major cloud company. But they are drawing more scrutiny lately because they could artificially inflate cloud revenue, a key driver of growth for Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, according to Ted Mortonson, managing director of financial-services firm Baird. Is OpenAI a regular cloud customer that is getting no investment money from Microsoft?

☆ Shopify insiders and analysts are bracing for a strategy shift in the company's logistics business
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Madeline Stone | Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Insiders and analysts expect a major shakeup to Shopify's logistics strategy. "The fulfillment investment is sort of the biggest anchor that's keeping the business from being more profitable." That may be a welcome change for investors, who have been voicing increasing concern with the level of investment Shopify had planned. And Shopify Logistics CEO Aaron Brown told Insider in February that 6 River Systems' warehouse automation would be "the machine in the background making everything work." Weiss then asked if Shopify Logistics is intended to turn a profit.

☆ Analysts are getting even more bullish on Microsoft's A.I. prospects after latest earnings report
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft's big swings on artificial intelligence are paying off, and analysts are even more bullish on the tech giant. Rangan has a buy rating on Microsoft and a price target of $335, implying upside of 21.6%. "Azure growth was ahead of expectations with MSFT showing ability to protect margin/EPS in a tough backdrop," Turrin said, who rates the stock as overweight. He also hiked his price target to $345 from $320, pointing to a 25.2% potential gain. Keith Weiss of Morgan Stanley also reiterated an overweight rating on the stock, and hiked his price target to $335 per share from $307.

☆ Microsoft stock rallies on earnings and bullish A.I. outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A sign for Microsoft Corp. at the company's office in the central business district of Lisbon, Portugal, on Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022. Microsoft shares sustained a nearly 8% jump in pre-market trading Wednesday, a day after reporting third-quarter results that beat analyst expectations on the top and bottom lines. Shares held their gains after a British regulator blocked Microsoft's planned acquisition of video game company Activision Blizzard on Wednesday morning. Analysts responded positively to Microsoft's AI prospects. Morgan Stanley reiterated its overweight rating on the stock and increased its price target to $335.

☆ Salesforce's pivot to profitability is under appreciated in its stock, say Morgan Stanley Keith Weiss
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailSalesforce's pivot to profitability is under appreciated in its stock, say Morgan Stanley Keith WeissMorgan Stanley Analyst Keith Weiss joins 'Closing Bell Overtime' to discuss his playbook for second quarter, the strong first quarter performance by software stocks, and companies set to benefit from A.I.

☆ Morgan Stanley's guide for tech investors playing the end of this bear market — and the start of the next bull
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Tech (and media and telecom) investors should start preparing their buy lists now ahead of a bear market low, Morgan Stanley said. Given this, the strategist offered an investment guide for the period before, during and after the stock market trough. Netflix was among the names Morgan Stanley recommended for the period prior to the market bottom. Meanwhile, after the bear market low, Morgan Stanley said cyclicals, lower quality and value names have the most "impressive outperformance." Meanwhile, for investors trading through the trough and into the bull market, names such as Salesforce and Microsoft are buying opportunities, Morgan Stanley said.

☆ Salesforce's strong results are impressive given activist pressure, Wall Street analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Salesforce 's strong earnings were impressive, as it works toward improving profitability in the midst of ongoing activist pressure at the firm, according to Wall Street analysts. The results help Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff fend off pressure from activist investors such as Third Point and Elliott Management that have leaned on the firm. The new price target suggests shares can jump 43% from Wednesday's closing price of $167.35. JPMorgan's Mark Murphy also reiterated an overweight rating on the stock, and raised his price target to $230 from $200 — implying about 37% upside. Nevertheless, he maintained a neutral rating on the stock, with a $182 price target implying just 8% upside.

☆ Morgan Stanley: Investors will be focused on how Salesforce can expand margins, and return more cash to shareholders
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailMorgan Stanley: Investors will be focused on how Salesforce can expand margins, and return more cash to shareholdersMorgan Stanley analyst Keith Weiss discusses the number of activist investors circling Salesforce ahead of its quarterly earnings, and the best bets within the cloud sector.

☆ Latest Microsoft results show the tech giant is still a buy despite near-term pressures, analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Microsoft may be facing some near-term pressures, but most analysts think the stock remains a buy at current levels. Radke has a buy rating on the stock, and raised his target price slightly to $282 from $280. His $300 price target represents more than 23% upside from Tuesday's closing price for the stock. Davidson's Gil Luria was especially bullish on Microsoft, saying that the tech giant "deserves a premium valuation relative to the market and its Pac4 comparables." He lowered his price target to $265 from $267.

☆ Microsoft is doing well in terms of the market share consolidation, says Morgan Stanley's Keith Weiss
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailMicrosoft is doing well in terms of the market share consolidation, says Morgan Stanley's Keith WeissMorgan Stanley analyst Keith Weiss and Barbara Doran, BD8 Capital Partners, join 'Closing Bell' to discuss the market response to Microsoft's earnings, the bullish case for Microsoft's move to the cloud, and more.

☆ Here are analysts' favorite tech stocks for 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Carmen Reinicke | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The tech sector was hit hard last year as worries about economic weakness and the Federal Reserve's aggressive rate hike path to tame inflation weighed on companies. In particular, rising interest rates hurt the present value of the future stream of earnings for tech stocks. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK), a fund that corresponds with the tech sector of the S & P 500, dropped 28% in 2022. Still, there are some bright spots in the sector where Wall Street analysts see growth ahead. The stock gained nearly 45% in 2022 and could rise another 43% this year, according to the consensus price target from Wall Street analysts.

☆ Here are Morgan Stanley's top software stock picks for 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The difficult outlook for software stocks should continue into 2023, but companies offering growth at a reasonable price stand to gain and come out on top, according to Morgan Stanley. Software stocks suffered a dismal 2022 as rising interest rates brought down stocks with sky high price-to-earnings ratios. Despite ServiceNow's decline of more than 39% this year, Morgan Stanley's $612 price target implies more than 55% upside from Friday's close. Along with its top picks, Morgan Stanley named a host of stocks poised to benefit in any recovery. Morgan Stanley also included Toast and Datadog as stocks to build positions in as interest rates subside and growth improves.

☆ These stocks are cheap heading into 2023, and analysts love them
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Fred Imbert | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

However, this sell-off may have opened buying opportunities among some of Wall Street analysts' favorite names. Amazon made the list, trading at a 31.6% discount to its average five-year forward P/E multiple. The stocks is trading at a more than 50% discount to its average five-year forward valuation and has buy ratings from more than three-quarters of analysts covering it. The former is trading 82% below its average five-year forward valuation, while Delta is 77% below. Delta, meanwhile, has dropped 10% in 2022, but the average analyst price target on the airline implies upside of 35%.

☆ Tech kept talent happy doling out stock during the boom. It's screwing investors in the bust.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Asia Martin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

As tech stock prices plunge, firms are granting new stocks to staff to keep compensation high. But as stock values tumble in the second half of 2022, investors are looking at the increase in stock-based compensation (SBC) as an issue. And tech companies have been issuing a lot of shares to not only attract new employees but hang on to their existing ones. Peloton granted more than 4 million stock options and 1.7 million RSUs in its fiscal year that ended in June 2021. "The drop in the stock price makes the expense, for lack of a better way to phrase it, a lot more expensive," he added.

☆ Buy this stock poised to become one of the best 'growth stories' in software, Morgan Stanley says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Morgan Stanley says investors should consider putting their money in ServiceNow , a software stock poised to become one of the best free cash flow growth stories in its sector. Analyst Keith Weiss named the stock a top pick, moving away from the bank's previous focus on Salesforce . Weiss cited ServiceNow's "best-in-class unit economics" and strong positioning among the reasons for the sentiment shift. Morgan Stanley's $520 price target suggests the stock could, however, gain 26% from Wednesday's close. "With current unit economics capable of supporting > 40% operating margins as growth slows, the combination of strong execution to a large (and growing) TAM with significant room for margin expansion should yield one of the best FCF growth stories in software," Weiss wrote.

☆ These top stock picks from Morgan Stanley are well positioned for 'resilient growth'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

There's a wide range of stock ready to pop regardless of what direction the market goes, according to Morgan Stanley. They include Epam Systems , Bill.com , SLB, Microchip Technology and Ingersoll Rand. Bill.com Holdings Bill.com has showed "solid execution yields resilient growth in a worsening macro," analyst Keith Weiss said following the company's earnings report earlier this month. Microchip Technology Shares of the semiconductor supplier are too attractive to ignore, analyst Joseph Moore said earlier this month. Bill.com "Solid Execution Yields Resilient Growth in a Worsening Macro ... Amid this macro warning sign, mgmt.

☆ 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.

☆ Earnings playbook: The investing game plan as Apple and Alphabet lead the busiest week of the season
▼ + stars: | 2022-07-24 | by ( Fred Imbert | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +20 min

Tuesday Coca-Cola is set to report earnings before the bell, followed by a conference call at 8:30 a.m. Chipotle is scheduled to report earnings after the close, followed by a conference call at 4:30 p.m. Meta is set to report earnings after the close, followed by a conference call at 5 p.m. Thursday Amazon is set to report earnings after the bell, with management slated to hold a conference call at 5:30 p.m. Friday Procter & Gamble will report earnings before the bell, followed by a conference call at 9 a.m.

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