A strong showing in the cloud business, as well as an upbeat fiscal year forecast, keep Wall Street bullish on Microsoft following the tech giant’s latest quarterly release. Microsoft reported earnings and revenue for its most recent quarter that fell short of expectations. However, investors still approve of revenue growth in Azure and cloud services, up 40%. Expectations for the tech giant’s double-digit revenue and operating income growth in fiscal 2023 also encouraged investors. “The results weren’t bad,” AllianceBerntein’s Mark Moerdler wrote in a note Wednesday. “Key growth drivers, such as Azure and commercial Office 365, have performed well. The focus has shifted to guidance and whether the future continues to be weak or the company can pull through, and also on profitability. neither the call nor the earnings guide disappoints.” AllianceBerntein has a better rating than Microsoft, although it cut its price target for the stock to $355 from $365. Deutsche Bank’s Brad Zelnick said the company commentary “supports our view of Microsoft as an equity consolidation company in tough times, helping customers achieve more with less.” Zelnick has a buy rating and a $330 price target on the stock. Meanwhile, Kash Rangan of Goldman Sachs said the company’s fundamental story remains intact even as the company weathers currency challenges and a tough macro backdrop. To be sure, some items on Wall Street didn’t sell according to Microsoft’s pink fiscal 2023 outlook, which remained flat from the previous quarter even as recession fears grew. “Guide with confidence… but there doesn’t seem to be much conservatism,” Citi’s Tyler Radke wrote in a note Wednesday. Comments could imply that the outlook implies a similar set of macro/demand assumptions as seen in June for Q1 and FY23, which does not look particularly prudent given the deteriorating environment. evident throughout Q4.” JPMorgan’s Mark Murphy pointed out that “Microsoft has removed the word ‘healthy’ from its double-digit growth guidance, confirming hiring will slow and we expect slight estimate revisions -” so the macro picture is changing – but we consider the downturn to be gradual and relatively small compared to the broader Tech scene.” This is where some of the big Wall Street firms take sides. Microsoft follows company report: AllianceBerntein: Better, PT to $355 from $365 William Blair: Outperforms Bank of America: Reiterate Buy, PT $345 Deutsche Bank: Buy, PT $330 Evercore ISI: Out , PT $330 Credit Suisse: Better, PT $400 Morgan Stanley: Overweight, PT $354 Capital Markets RBC: Better, PT $380 Wolfe Research: Better, PT $320 or more Barclays: Overweight, PT $335 Jefferies: Buy, PT $320 Piper Sandler: Overweight, PT $312 Mizuho: Buy, PT $340 JPMorgan: Overweight, PT to $305 from $320 Wells Fargo: Overweight, PT $350 Stocks u Atlantic: Overweight, PT to $300 from $350 : Buy, PT to $300 from $320 Capital Markets BMO: Better, PT to $320 from $305 Citi: Buy, PT to 300 dollars from $330 — Michael Bloom of CNBC contributed to this report.
