With its stock closing at another record high last night, around $450, it’s safe to say that Microsoft Inc (NASDAQ: MSFT) is having a great year so far. The tech titan is up more than 20% in 2024, with many gains coming in the past two months alone.
For context, the benchmark S&P 500 index has only managed to tack on 16% over the same timeframe, while Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) has done even less. Indeed, when it comes to finding another $1 trillion-plus market cap tech company that’s outperformed Microsoft, you need to go to the likes of NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA), with its 140% gain this year, or Meta Inc (NASDAQ: META) with its 40% gain.
Bullish Market: AI-Driven Gains and Hopes for Rate Cuts
Broadly speaking, this year has seen a strong risk-on sentiment sweep across equities, with artificial intelligence (AI)- related stocks doing particularly well. In addition, inflation readings continue to trend down, and the market is licking its licks at the thought of an interest rate cut.
That said, some valuation concerns are being raised about how lopsided this rally is, with NVIDIA and Meta alone accounting for much of the entire S&P 500’s gains. However, the good news for Microsoft investors is that the market expects the stock to continue rallying.
Microsoft’s Market Position: Analysts Predict Strong Upside
This was the sentiment of the team at Citi last week when they reiterated their Buy rating on the stock and upped their price target. Their bullish outlook is based on continuing positive news around the generative AI leader, OpenAI, in which Microsoft owns a significant stake. Recent reports have suggested that OpenAI’s revenue has more than doubled yearly to $3.4 billion. Citi analyst Tyler Tadke was also bullish on Microsoft’s internal revenue engine, with solid strength in its cloud computing platform, Azure, a key factor.
Having previously had a price target of $495 on Microsoft shares, Tadke has upped this to $520. This points to an additional upside of around 15%, pushing the stock further into blue-sky territory. But that’s not even the most bullish price target that’s recently been printed.
Take Tigress Financial, for example, who earlier this month put a price target of $550 on Microsoft shares, or New Street Research, which went straight to $570 when they initiated coverage with a Buy rating. For both of these teams and, indeed, almost all the analysts who’ve rated Microsoft bullishly this year, it’s all about AI. The company seems to have done a great job in positioning itself to capture large pieces of the market, and there’s every reason to think this leadership position will continue.
High Expectations: Microsoft’s Stock Poised for Continued Gains
This was also the sentiment from Truist Financial, which reiterated its Buy rating on the stock just last week. What was particularly noteworthy here, though, was the $600 price target they gave Microsoft, which immediately became the new street high. This points to a massive 33% upside from where the stock closed on Tuesday.
For those of us on the sidelines who’ve missed out on the gains so far this year but who’ve been eager to get involved, this could be the buy signal we’ve been waiting for. It’s never easy buying into a stock that’s already at all-time highs, but with the sheer volume of analysts screaming for more gains, you can’t help but feel that Microsoft shares have a lot more in them.
Look for the stock to continue rallying towards the $500 mark, with its next earnings report, due around the end of July, a key event on the calendar. Since this rally kicked off in early 2023, Microsoft has been doing everything right, and all the signs suggest this isn’t going to change anytime soon.
