Microsoft (MSFT) / Bill Gates 02 (Apr 18 - Dec 27)

[winston]

not vested

Microsoft Corp – Winning the global enterprise on cloud and security

Recommendation: BUY (Initiation); TP: US$405.00

Microsoft’s cloud business, Azure, has doubled its market share, leveraging on the installed base of 72% of global enterprise servers with attractive pricing.

Cybersecurity demand is accelerating upgrades to MSFT’s higher-end licenses, helping sustain historically high operating margins above 40%.

Core productivity software user base still growing in the teens, reaching 300mn in FY21. A further boost is recent price increases starting in March 2022.

We initiate coverage with a BUY recommendation and DCF-based target price (WACC 6.2%) of US$405.

Source: Phillips

https://www.stocksbnb.com/reports/micro ... -security/

[behappyalways]

Microsoft buys Activision Blizzard in US$69 billion game deal
https://www.theedgesingapore.com/news/m ... -game-deal

[behappyalways]

Microsoft Tumbles Despite Beating Across The Board
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/micro ... ross-board

[winston]

not vested

Take Advantage of Microsoft’s (MSFT) Dip and Buy It Today

by Dr. David Eifrig

Source: DailyWealth.com

With the Activision purchase of US$69b, Microsoft would become the world’s third-biggest gaming company.

Activision is a legendary gaming publisher with timeless titles like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft.

According to Bloomberg, global video-game revenue was about $105 billion in 2016. It nearly doubled to $180 billion in 2020. And it’s expected to cross the $200 billion threshold by 2024.

At the moment, Microsoft is sitting on $20.6 billion in cash and has $80.3 billion in total debt. That gives the company a net debt (debt minus cash) position of $59.7 billion.

https://dailytradealert.com/2022/02/20/ ... -it-today/

[winston]

not vested

How The Activision Blizzard (ATVI) Purchase Helps Microsoft (MSFT) Stock

by Louis Navellier

PC sales are on fire — which means more copies of Windows are being sold.

Additionally, Microsoft’s Xbox Series X game console still sells out as soon as stores receive a shipment.

Activision owns huge video game franchises including Call of Duty, Overwatch, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush.

Its games are popular online, on PC, on game consoles and on smartphones. It counts 400 million monthly active players spread across 190 countries.

Call of Duty Mobile — brought in over $1 billion in consumer spending in 2021.

With its Azure cloud computing service, Office subscription revenue, Windows licensing, Xbox sales, Bing search revenue, Surface device revenue, the picture is pretty compelling.

Source: Investor Place

https://dailytradealert.com/2022/02/21/ ... sft-stock/

[winston]

not vested

Microsoft is expanding its product for finding and monitoring security weak spots in cloud-computing to include rival Alphabet's Google Cloud Platform.

Microsoft Defender for Cloud will include support for Google Cloud starting on Wednesday (Feb 23), 3 months after adding support for Amazon's market leading products.

Microsoft, which sells the rival Azure, used open programming interfaces to hook into its competitors' products, Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services and provide its cybersecurity services.

Customers increasingly use multiple cloud platforms and have different products to secure and monitor them.

There are so many different products from cybersecurity companies, as well as Microsoft, Amazon and Google, that it can be difficult for security professionals to keep track of them.

With damaging cyberattacks on the rise, Microsoft is hoping to make it simpler and better protect customers.

Source: Phillips

[winston]

MICROSOFT IS TIED TO HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN FOREIGN BRIBES, WHISTLEBLOWER ALLEGES

‘It’s going on at all levels,’ says former employee. ‘All the executives are aware of it.’

By Russell Brandom

Source: The Verge

https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/25/2299 ... ontracting

[winston]

Microsoft Stock: A Name to Count on in an Uncertain Environment, Says Morgan Stanley

“Leadership across key growth categories and CIO's indications of stable Enterprise IT spending into CY22 should help offset impacts of a volatile macro environment.”

Microsoft still boasts “strong positioning across key growth and defensible spending categories.”

As workloads continue the migration to the cloud, these headwinds should be “offset by IT budget share gains.”

All 27 recent reviews are positive, naturally culminating in a Strong Buy consensus rating. At $374.88, the average price target sits just above Weiss’s and is projected to generate returns of 33% over the coming months.

Source: TipRanks

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/microsof ... 55908.html

[winston]

not vwatws

Microsoft (MSFT) is Still a Strong Buy and Hold Today

by Patrick Sanders

Revenue improved by 18% on a year-over-year basis.

Intelligent Cloud division brought in $19.1 billion in revenue, up 26% from a year ago.

Source: Investor Place

https://dailytradealert.com/2022/04/29/ ... old-today/

[winston]

not vested

Microsoft will slow hiring in its Windows, Office and Teams chat and conferencing software groups, citing a need to realign staffing priorities as it approaches a new fiscal year in a time of global economic uncertainty.

All new hires must be approved by executive vice president Rajesh Jha and his leadership team, Jha told employees in an email on Thursday (May 26), a Microsoft spokesperson said.

Those groups have expanded recently and the company wants to make sure it’s making the right hires in the right places, the spokesperson said.

The slowdown is not companywide, and overall the software maker will continue to hire, the spokesperson said, noting that such caution is typical in periods of economic volatility.

“As Microsoft gets ready for the new fiscal year, it is making sure the right resources are aligned to the right opportunity,” the company said in a statement.

“Microsoft will continue to grow headcount in the year ahead and it will add additional focus to where those resources go.”

The company’s fiscal year starts Jul 1. Other big technology companies have been slowing or freezing hiring in the past several months as stocks plummet and fears of an economic recession escalate.

Source: Phillips