Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) delivered a Q2 print that was strong overall and exceeded Wall Street targets on the top and bottom lines. Most analysts raised their targets on Microsoft stock after the Q2 earnings were made public.
However, MSFT stock has been pulled lower since the beginning of July amid the broad pullback in technology securities. In the last month, Microsoft stock has declined 13%. This presents a golden opportunity to buy-the-dip in a best-in-class stock that has a track record of rewarding shareholders.
Strong Results
Microsoft reported EPS of $2.95 for this year’s second quarter, ahead of the $2.93 that was forecast by analysts who track the company’s progress.
Total revenue in the quarter came in at $64.73 billion, which beat Wall Street’s consensus expectation of $64.39 billion. The company’s total sales were up 15% from a year ago.
Sales of office software products rose 11% from a year ago, while sales of the Windows operating system saw sales grow 14%. In gaming, Microsoft now has over 500 million monthly active users through its Xbox unit.
Despite the strong results, Microsoft stock ended up dipping with the quarterly results because revenue for its cloud computing unit missed Wall Street’s target.
The cloud computing unit earned $28.52 billion in revenue, which was less than the $28.68 billion that analysts had penciled in.
However, even though sales in the cloud segment fell short of expectations, they were still up 19% from a year earlier. Revenue from the Azure public cloud and other cloud services grew 29% year-over-year.
Of that 29% growth for Azure and other cloud services, Microsoft said that eight percentage points came from its artificial intelligence services.
Company executives forecast cloud computing revenue growth of 28% to 29% for the rest of this year, with growth accelerating in the first half 2025.
While the immediate reaction to Microsoft’s Q2 cloud computing results was negative, the current situation and outlook for the company’s cloud segment is actually pretty good.
Analyst Upgrades
A lot of analysts raised their price targets on Microsoft stock heading into the Q2 financial results.
Piper Sandler (NYSE:PIPR) lifted its price target on the shares to $485 from $465 and reiterated a “buy” equivalent rating. The analysts there said we could see double-digit cloud computing growth through 2030.
After the Q2 print, analysts have continued to upgrade MSFT stock. Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) just raised its price target on Microsoft stock to $515 from $500 and kept its “overweight” rating, saying they buy on any weakness. Wells Fargo doesn’t expect the shares to stay down for long.
Microsoft stock currently enjoys a consensus “strong buy” rating. A total of 26 professional analysts give MSFT stock a unanimous “buy” rating. There are no “sell” or “hold” ratings on the stock currently.
The median price target on Microsoft stock is 25% higher than where the shares are trading at presently. The lowest price target on the company’s shares is 15% above current levels.
The bottom line is that Wall Street remains extremely bullish on Microsoft and its outlook.
Buy Microsoft Stock
The Nasdaq composite index has entered a correction, defined as a 10% decline from recent highs.
While stressful in the near-term, the pullback has opened up opportunities for investors to buy some truly great stocks at a discount. And no bigger opportunity exists right now then with Microsoft.
With the company’s share price down nearly 15% in the last month, investors should take advantage of the situation and take a position or add to an existing one. Microsoft stock is a buy.
— Joel Baglole
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Source: Investor Place