MSFT - Microsoft Corporation
151.56 -0.14 (-0.09%)
Pre-Market: 8:31AM EST
| Previous Close | 151.13 |
| Open | 151.54 |
| Bid | 151.91 x 900 |
| Ask | 151.68 x 1200 |
| Day's Range | 150.33 - 151.87 |
| 52 Week Range | 93.96 - 152.50 |
| Volume | 18,860,001 |
| Avg. Volume | 21,978,076 |
| Market Cap | 1.2T |
| Beta (3Y Monthly) | 1.23 |
| PE Ratio (TTM) | 28.62 |
| EPS (TTM) | 5.30 |
| Earnings Date | Jan 28, 2020 - Feb 3, 2020 |
| Forward Dividend & Yield | 2.04 (1.34%) |
| Ex-Dividend Date | 2020-02-19 |
| 1y Target Est | 160.38 |
- Yahoo Finance
Why Microsoft should really be company of the year
Microsoft has had an incredible year, from the growth of its cloud business to its plans to roll out a new game streaming service in 2020.
- Investor's Business Daily
Software Stocks To Buy And Watch: Will These Growth Stocks Turn Hot Again?
Software stocks rallied in early 2018 and 2019, then pulled back as some analysts questioned their valuations. Heading into 2020, many software stocks have rebounded from a September-October swoon.
- Reuters
Researchers criticize AI software that predicts emotions
A prominent group of researchers alarmed by the harmful social effects of artificial intelligence called Thursday for a ban on automated analysis of facial expressions in hiring and other major decisions. The AI Now Institute at New York University said action against such software-driven "affect recognition" was its top priority because science doesn't justify the technology's use and there is still time to stop widespread adoption. The group of professors and other researchers cited as a problematic example the company HireVue, which sells systems for remote video interviews for employers such as Hilton and Unilever.
- Bloomberg
Aramco Closes Just Below $2 Trillion Goal in Second-Day Gain
(Bloomberg) -- Saudi Aramco shares rose for a second day, with the oil giant’s market value at times surpassing the $2 trillion mark that alienated global investors and potentially makes further stock sales abroad more difficult.The stock climbed 4.6% to close at 36.80 riyals in Riyadh, finishing at $1.96 trillion, below the valuation targeted by Saudi Arabia. Aramco rose as much as 10%, the daily limit, in trading of 418 million shares, up from 31.6 million Wednesday.The gain, which follows a 10% surge on Wednesday, reflects the kingdom’s efforts to engineer a successful start to trading after international investors balked at the price. Saudi Arabia encouraged local individuals to purchase and hold the stock through cheap loans and a bonus-share plan, while pushing wealthy families and regional allies to buy as well.The offering consisted of only 1.5% of Aramco’s stock, so that investors who didn’t get allocated shares in the IPO had to buy in the secondary market.“We were expecting this IPO to be a blockbuster, and the performance in the past two days shows that was the case,” said Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer at Century Financial Consultancy LLC in Dubai, who has high-net-worth individuals from the Gulf among his clients. “From the appetite we see for the stock, there is room for it to climb another 10% to 18% next week.”Aramco raised $25.6 billion in the deal, selling shares at 32 riyals each and overtaking Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc. as the most valuable listed company.The IPO has become synonymous with Saudi Arabia’s controversial Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his efforts to reshape the economy of the world’s biggest oil exporter. But his insistence on the $2 trillion valuation deterred international investors, many of whom said the stock was too expensive given governance and geopolitical concerns.Analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. said after the first trading day that it’s already time to cash out. In a Bloomberg survey last month, global money managers put Aramco’s fair value at between $1.2 trillion and $1.5 trillion.While hitting the target may vindicate Saudi officials, it could complicate any plans to sell part of Aramco’s shares abroad as originally envisaged by Prince Mohammed in 2016, when he said a dual listing could raise as much as $100 billion. Saudi officials met in recent weeks with international investors to sound them out on a possible listing of Aramco’s shares in Asia, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.Still, the IPO -- touted as part of a blueprint for life after oil for the kingdom -- is a watershed moment for a business that’s bankrolled Saudi Arabia and its rulers for decades.The debut was cheered by Saudi and Gulf investors, who see the stock price supported by Aramco’s guaranteed dividends, buying by index-tracking funds and the fact that the region doesn’t have any other listed major oil companies.Read: The Wall Street Bankers Who Burst Aramco’s $2 Trillion BubbleAramco’s “$2 trillion valuation is justified due to secured dividend streams,” Arqaam Capital analysts including Rita Guindy and Jaap Meijer wrote in a report on Wednesday in which they initiated coverage with a buy recommendation and price target of 39.20 riyals.Arqaam expects a gradual increase of 2% annually in the dividend, potentially being topped up by a special payout of $20 billion in the next three years.(Updates with closing price in second paragraph.)\--With assistance from Paul Wallace.To contact the reporter on this story: Filipe Pacheco in Dubai at fpacheco4@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Celeste Perri at cperri@bloomberg.net, Phil Serafino, Tom LavellFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Moody's
COMM 2014-UBS5 Mortgage Trust -- Moody's affirms nine classes of COMM 2014-UBS5
Rating Action: Moody's affirms nine classes of COMM 2014- UBS5. Global Credit Research- 11 Dec 2019. Approximately $942 million of structured securities affected.
- Financial Times
Fintech: the rise of the Asian ‘super app’
Rice Basket Queen is the name of a stall run by Ruri Ruhyaty in a bustling suburb of Jakarta. A year ago it was typical of thousands of others. Ms Ruri would place her fish and vegetable dishes on banana ...
- Bloomberg
Nintendo Switch China Sales Could Reach 4 Million by March, Analyst Says
(Bloomberg) -- Only a few days after Nintendo Co.’s Switch made its long-anticipated entry into China, one analyst is making a bullish case for Mario and Zelda’s prospects in the world’s biggest gaming arena.Nintendo could sell as many as four million Switch units in China in the fiscal year ending March and 12 million units of software, London-based tech equity researcher Pelham Smithers wrote in a note to clients. That could add as much as 23 billion yen ($212 million) to the Kyoto-based company’s full-year operating profit, Smithers said.Nintendo and its local partner Tencent Holdings Ltd. began selling the Switch console in China on Dec. 10, a move that has excited Nintendo investors hopeful of tapping a new market. But the optimism has been tampered by the historically lackluster performance of Sony Corp.’s PlayStation and Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox consoles, which have had several years to crack the market where smartphones are the dominant gaming platform. Video game giants are also hampered by Beijing’s insistence on vetting all games, which limits the library available to fans and slows new releases. At launch, the Switch only had one state-approved game to play.“While the history of the game console in China is not a happy one, lack of success is not necessarily down to lack of interest on the part of the consumer,” Smithers wrote in the report. “After all: if China’s consumers didn’t play console video games, the authorities wouldn’t have bothered banning them in the first place.”Key Insights:Switch hardware sales in China may range between 2 million and 4 million units in fiscal 2019 and between 3 million and 6 million the following year. Software sales will range between 6 million and 12 million in the current period and 15 million and 30 million in the period ending March 2021.China could contribute between 11.6 billion yen and 23.1 billion yen to Nintendo’s operating profit this year and 27.8 billion to 55.6 billion yen in the next.Smithers forecasts a ratio of three game purchases for each hardware unit sold in both years.He also assumes Tencent takes a 30% share of software sales income, while all of the hardware revenue goes to Nintendo, and that the two companies split the marketing costs.Nintendo’s sales in China may be capped by the company’s unwillingness to significantly increase production volume of the console and risk building up unsold inventory.Nintendo’s signature device is selling for 2,099 yuan ($298), about the same as elsewhere around the world. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Mario Odyssey and Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe have been green-lit by the government. Nintendo is also preparing to introduce the Switch Lite -- a cheaper version of the console intended to boost the device’s mainstream appeal -- to China at a future date, development partner Tencent said in a social media post last week.Sales of the Switch might have topped 50,000 units on launch day, according to market researcher Niko Partners, which gathers data from online retailers. Some 20,000 units were sold via JD.com and another 10,000 through TMall, it said in a report. Niko Partners forecasts the sales will reach 100,000 units by the end of the year, far below the 1 to 2 million estimated by Smithers.This isn’t Nintendo’s first attempt to crack the market. Official console sales in China remain a fraction of the overall gaming arena, as region locks and delayed hardware releases push gamers toward imported options. Nintendo confronted similar challenges in attempts to enter China dating back to 2003. It tried to sell, via a joint venture, its Game Boy Advance, Nintendo 3DS and a peculiar China-only portable console called iQue Player. Rampant piracy and slow game launches made those products unappealing.Elsewhere, Nintendo’s Switch retains its popularity three years after its launch, in an industry where consoles are often revamped every half-decade or so. The company has so far stuck with a conservative outlook for 18 million Switch units this fiscal year. Smithers thinks full-year sales outside of China could range between 20 and 21 million.Read more: Nintendo Will Prove the Switch’s Longevity This Holiday SeasonThe company’s shares have climbed more than 50% this year on the anticipation of the Switch’s China debut, the release of a smartphone edition of the Mario Kart franchise and the launch of the cheaper Switch Lite. Nintendo is likely to revise upwards its full-year earnings forecasts when it reports results in January, which could tempt some investors to sell and lock in gains, Smithers wrote.“Even if it doesn’t, this quarter’s figures should impress,” he said.\--With assistance from Zheping Huang.To contact the reporter on this story: Pavel Alpeyev in Tokyo at palpeyev@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Peter Elstrom at pelstrom@bloomberg.net, Vlad Savov, Colum MurphyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Barrons.com
Oracle Reports Earnings Tomorrow. Here’s What To Expect.
Oracle is pushing hard to play catch up in the cloud. We’ll get an update on its progress after the close on Thursday.
- Zacks
FedEx Q2 2020 Earnings Preview: Time to Buy Beaten Down FDX Stock?
Should investors think about buying beaten down FedEx stock before it releases its second quarter fiscal 2020 earnings results on Tuesday, December 17?
- Zacks
Microsoft (MSFT) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know
Microsoft (MSFT) closed the most recent trading day at $151.70, moving +0.38% from the previous trading session.
- Zacks
Buy Amazon (AMZN) Stock on the Dip Before a 2020 Rally?
Is now the time to buy Amazon stock on the dip heading into 2020 with AMZN stock down 6% in the last six months?
- Zacks
What the Tech?
Let's REALLY dive deep into the abyss which can be tech. Associate Stock Strategist Dan Laboe, Zacks' resident Tech geek joins us.
- Bloomberg
Cisco Enters Chip Market, Supplying Microsoft, Facebook
(Bloomberg) -- Cisco Systems Inc. has started supplying switch chips to major data-center operators, including Microsoft Corp. and Facebook Inc., opening up a new avenue to win orders from some of its largest networking-equipment customers.Cisco Silicon 1 is a switch semiconductor that’s already being used by Microsoft and Facebook in crucial networking equipment, the companies said Wednesday at an event in San Francisco. San Jose, California-based Cisco is now offering the chips, which it says are the fastest in the industry, to all of its customers, regardless of whether they buy its networking machinery. Previously Cisco’s chips were only available as components of its machines.The shift toward standalone chip sales is another departure from the business model that made Cisco one of the biggest companies in the technology industry. Cisco’s expensive proprietary combinations of hardware and software make up the backbone of much of the internet and corporate networks, and these products generate the bulk of the company’s revenue. The new initiative has the potential to attract business from customers who want to build their own machines instead of buying whole packages. It also puts Cisco in direct competition with its suppliers, Intel Corp. and Broadcom Inc., which also make switch chips that the networking equipment maker uses in some of its products.“From today -- and this is something that some of you never thought we’d do -- some of our customers will buy our silicon and build their own products if that’s what they choose to do,” Chief Executive Officer Chuck Robbins said at the event. “We really want our customers to consume this technology in any way they want.”As the internet infrastructure business moves away from suppliers who provide all the needs through locked-down combinations of hardware and software, Robbins has been pushing Cisco to adapt by becoming a bigger supplier of networking services and software. On his watch, software has risen to provide about 11% of revenue. Hardware still generates more than half of sales.Cisco shares rose less than 1% to $44.24 at 2:02 p.m. in New York. The stock gained 1.8% this year through Tuesday’s close.The move into selling components is an attempt to win orders from the hyperscalers, such as Microsoft, Google and Amazon.com Inc.’s AWS, a group that has increasingly turned away from Cisco’s offerings and equipped their data centers with computers and networking gear designed in house. Those big cloud-computing vendors contribute as little as 2% of Cisco’s total sales, according to Raymond James analyst Simon Leopold.Switch chips perform the crucial function of deciding where packets of data should go in a network of computers. They are designed to handle that task at great speed, and only a few companies have been successful in the market. Broadcom is the biggest provider of this type of chip as an individual component and has as much as 80% share, Leopold said. Intel took a bigger interest in the market in June when it bought startup Barefoot Networks.Cisco’s new offering will combine the attributes of both switch and routing chips, the company said. It’ll be able to move data very quickly and still be programmable, carrying the ability to have its function changed. Routing, directing traffic among networks, is typically conducted by groups of chips that bring other attributes but are unable to direct data fast enough for modern internet traffic loads. One chip providing all of the functions will simplify the operation of networks by eliminating the need for different layers of software, Cisco executives said.Offering up what was previously guarded as a proprietary advantage shows a flexibility at Cisco that has been increasing as Robbins works to transform the company. Analysts predict the build-it-yourself approach to networking, pioneered by the large cloud-service operators, over time will be copied by companies looking to reduce the cost of their data-center spending. That corporate market is one of Cisco’s biggest sources of revenue.Cisco’s equipment, including its chips, is designed by the company and manufactured by a third party, which it hasn’t identified.The company also announced a new router machine at the event, designed to better serve as the backbone for new fifth generation, or 5G, cellular networks. The Cisco 8000 will be based on the new chip. The company also unveiled plans for products that will support faster data transmission speeds over fiber-optic cables. Like the rest of the networking industry, Cisco is positioning itself to be a main provider of equipment for the predicted surge in internet traffic and data created by the proliferation of mobile systems.(Updates with comment from Cisco CEO in the fourth paragraph.)To contact the reporter on this story: Ian King in San Francisco at ianking@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Jillian Ward at jward56@bloomberg.net, Andrew PollackFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Zacks
3 Semiconductor Stocks to Buy Right Now for 2020 on Chip Comeback
We found three semiconductor stocks with the help of our Zacks Stock Screener that investors might want to consider buying for 2020...
- American City Business Journals
Will the court find fire in the smoke of Amazon’s JEDI claims?
AWS' complaint paints a picture of an acquisition flawed by a list of alleged procurement errors designed to reach a predetermined outcome. The $10 billion question is, will the court see it that way?
- Bloomberg
Software Analysts See More Volatility in an Uncertain 2020
(Bloomberg) -- High-multiple software stocks have struggled over the past few months as analysts reassess their growth prospects and valuations, and the group could see additional weakness in 2020, creating an environment where more-defensive legacy names are more favored, analysts said on Wednesday.“There is a greater level of concern that the global economy could enter into a recessionary environment next year,” wrote Gregg Moskowitz, an analyst at Mizuho Securities. As a result, “there may be an increased risk of a rotation to value stocks that could cause multiple compression among higher growth companies.”Despite a potential risk to stock multiples, the firm expects software demand to remain robust next year, particularly in the sub-sectors of cybersecurity and cloud computing. It added that “barring a significant recession,” many companies would “navigate these issues very well,” and views both Microsoft Corp. and Salesforce.com Inc. as well positioned.Salesforce was also singled out by Cowen, which named the company as one of its “best ideas” for 2020.Next year “could prove to be a volatile year for higher multiple stocks given trends we’ve seen over the last few months,” Cowen analyst J. Derrick Wood wrote. In contrast, he said, Salesforce looks like “an attractive defensive growth investment,” given its lower valuation and “positioning around high growth/high value segments of software.”A basket of high-multiple software stocks tracked by Goldman Sachs fell as much as 2.6% on Wednesday, and the index was on track for its sixth straight decline, its longest streak of declines since October 2018. Even with the recent decline, the index remains up more than 40% in 2019.Among the names falling on Wednesday was Slack Technologies, down over 6%, Coupa Software, off about 4% and Zscaler, which fell 3.5% despite bullish commentary from BofA. Atlassian Corp. sank 5.7%, while Domo Inc. was off 4.2%. Cornerstone OnDemand and HubSpot each fell more than 3%. Separately, Zendesk fell 1.7%, on pace for a fifth straight decline.UBS analyst Jennifer Swanson Lowe on Wednesday wrote that small- and mid-cap software-as-a-service companies were “working through the bumps,” even as the overall demand environment for software was “healthy” going into the end of the year.The comments followed a UBS conference, where companies like Zendesk, Hubspot and Domo “highlighted strong secular demand trends, but also scaling challenges,” according to a report. Lowe added that software pertaining to security, cloud computing and automation were among the categories with “strong market momentum.”A key catalyst for the software sector will come Thursday afternoon, when Adobe Inc. is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter results. In focus is whether the company is able to maintain revenue growth above 20%; Wall Street is currently expecting growth of 21%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.“How investors react to Adobe’s earnings and commentary could presage how software companies and their underlying stock prices will behave in 2020,” wrote Richard Davis, an analyst at Canaccord Genuity.He said the 20% growth threshold “has taken on a near mythical importance,” and suggested that if companies fail to maintain this level, investors may start “changing their tune” on whether they are comfortable with growth that doesn’t come with operating leverage.To contact the reporter on this story: Ryan Vlastelica in New York at rvlastelica1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Catherine Larkin at clarkin4@bloomberg.net, Steven Fromm, Jeremy R. CookeFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Insider Monkey
Billionaire Ken Fisher: Legendary Investor or Marketing Genius? (Updated)
Billionaire Ken Fisher is in hot water because of his sexual comments at a financial services conference. Fisher is known for his prestigious Forbes column, titled “Portfolio Strategy”, which he has been writing since 1984, which makes him the longest-running columnist in the publication’s history. He also has written 11 books, four of which became New […]
- GuruFocus.com
Salesforce: This Stock Flattened for a Good Reason
The tech giant has seen its stock price move sideways, driven by a weak earnings outlook Continue reading...
- Reuters
UPDATE 8-'Vindication' - Saudi Arabia hails 10% debut jump in Aramco shares
RIYADH/DUBAI, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco shares surged the maximum permitted 10% above their IPO price on their Riyadh stock market debut on Wednesday, in a move hailed by the government as a vindication of its towering $2 trillion valuation of the state oil company.
- Zacks
Bulls to Drive S&P 500 Higher in 2020: ETFs to Tap
The bullish trends in the S&P 500 index will likely continue heading into the New Year powered by the Fed's accommodative interest-rate policy and a resilient domestic economy.
- Benzinga
What A Difference: Year's Last Fed Meeting Ends Today With Rates Not Seen Changing
It was almost a year ago when a Fed meeting helped send stock indices plunging into bear or near-bear territory. The Fed’s decision back then to raise rates for a fourth time in 2018 put new interest rate fear into an already shaky market. Things couldn’t be more different approaching today’s Fed meeting conclusion, when the futures market expects no policy changes and the Fed is coming off of three-consecutive rate cuts.
- Zacks
Paycom Upgrades Learning Program Tools to Curb Talent Crunch
Paycom's (PAYC) new specialized tools, Performance Evidence and Video Content Creator, will aid companies to efficiently equip the in-house staff for meeting the fast-changing business needs.
- Zacks
Is iShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF (CRBN) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Smart Beta ETF report for CRBN
- Investor's Business Daily
Dow Jones Futures: Stock Market Rally Seeks Direction, But Reveals Apple, Google As True Leaders
Dow futures: The stock market still seeks China trade clarity, but Apple, AMD, Google, Microsoft and Target are acting like true leaders.
- Financial Times
Paytm pain: India’s biggest unicorn hits headwinds
FT subscribers can click here to receive Tech Scroll Asia by email. Hi everyone — Paytm, Asia’s biggest unicorn outside China, looks to be in trouble, with implications for its investors SoftBank and Alibaba. A fintech revolution is hurtling through south-east Asia as Indonesia is seized by an e-money craze.
