MSFT - Microsoft Corporation

NasdaqGS - NasdaqGS Real Time Price. Currency in USD
136.97
+0.02 (+0.01%)
At close: 4:00PM EDT

137.65 +0.68 (0.50%)
Pre-Market: 5:59AM EDT

Stock chart is not supported by your current browser
Previous Close136.95
Open136.58
Bid137.35 x 800
Ask137.70 x 3000
Day's Range136.46 - 137.72
52 Week Range93.96 - 137.73
Volume36,727,892
Avg. Volume23,551,423
Market Cap1.05T
Beta (3Y Monthly)1.05
PE Ratio (TTM)30.43
EPS (TTM)4.50
Earnings DateJul 17, 2019 - Jul 22, 2019
Forward Dividend & Yield1.84 (1.34%)
Ex-Dividend Date2019-08-14
1y Target Est143.16
Trade prices are not sourced from all markets
  • Microsoft’s Strategy to Become the ‘Netflix for Games’
    Investopedia2 hours ago

    Microsoft’s Strategy to Become the ‘Netflix for Games’

    Microsoft is set to release its xCloud video-game streaming service this fall as it attempts to become the Netflix of gaming.

  • The 5 Best Dow Jones Stocks So Far in 2019
    TipRanks23 hours ago

    The 5 Best Dow Jones Stocks So Far in 2019

    What a week! The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed over 2%, after the Fed cheered investors by indicating that it will cut interest rates next month. That sent tech and energy shares soaring- with the Dow climbing nearly 250 points on Thursday and reaching a record high in early trading on Friday. However, shares pulled back later in the day after five Chinese companies were banned from buying US components without approval. Nonetheless the Dow is looking very strong right now- with the index up 15% year-to-date. In particular, the following five stocks are leading the pack in terms of year-to-date (YTD) performance. Here we turned to the Street to see whether these stocks still offer a compelling investing proposition. Here's what top-performing analysts have to say: 1\. Microsoft (MSFT)– up 35% YTDMicrosoft takes the award of best-performing Dow stock so far this year. The company has put on a remarkable sprint of over 30% year-to-date. And analysts are almost uniformly positive about the company’s outlook going forward. That’s despite the fact that the current average analyst price target of $143 only suggests upside potential of 4%. But if you take a longer-term outlook, the stock’s multiple opportunities quickly become apparent.One analyst singing MSFT’s praises is five-star KeyBanc analyst Brent Bracelin. He has just reiterated his Microsoft buy rating with a $143 price target. Bracelin made the call following a number of upbeat meetings with Microsoft Gaming executives. “Gaming represents a $100B+ TAM opportunity for Microsoft” commented Bracelin. “We see Microsoft Gaming as a small (9.4% of FY18 sales) but strategic growth segment where the transformation to a subscription-based model (i.e., the Netflix of gaming) could sustain healthy growth and improving margins over the next three to five years as it gains share within a $100B+ gaming industry” the analyst told investors on June 11. Meanwhile Morgan Stanley’s Keith Weiss calls Microsoft ‘the best positioned firm in tech for the emerging Hybrid Cloud architectures.’ He highlights the company’s unique position as both a top 'New Stack' share gainer and the 1 'Old Stack' share gainer.And let’s not forget the savvy deal Microsoft has just struck with Oracle. The two companies announced a “cloud interoperability partnership enabling customers to migrate and run mission-critical enterprise workloads across Microsoft Azure and Oracle Cloud.” Moreover, “by enabling customers to run one part of a workload within Azure and another part of the same workload within the Oracle Cloud, the partnership delivers a highly optimized, best-of-both-clouds experience.” “Given Microsoft’s Azure is the 2 public cloud vendor in the world and Oracle is the clear 1 database vendor with a strong 2 position in enterprise applications that includes a fast-growing SaaS portfolio, we believe the two clouds complement each other well” writes Monness analyst Brian White, adding that the deal is a positive for both companies. View MSFT Price Target & Analyst Ratings Detail 2\. Cisco (CSCO)– up 32% YTDClose on Microsoft’s heels comes networking giant Cisco Systems. Over the last three years, Cisco shares have doubled and the stock shows no sign of slowing down. Even in the last five days, shares have soared 4%. Even a ratings downgrade from William Blair analyst Jason Ader didn’t deter investors for long.The analyst cited "signs of tightening demand across the IT infrastructure universe" at the company. And this weaker demand environment "could pressure growth in Cisco's fiscal 2020, especially when compared against unusually strong demand in fiscal 2019," the analyst said.As a result, Ader concludes that upside to consensus 2020 expectations, "as well as multiple expansion, will be more challenging from here."Nonetheless, Cisco still boasts a ‘Strong Buy’ analyst consensus rating. The average analyst price target stands at $59 (4% upside potential). And with the ongoing trade war between US and China, Cisco continues to look relatively attractive to tech-focused investors. “Cisco remains our top pick for investors looking at safe havens in the current environment to navigate through the trade war noise,” commented JPMorgan analyst Samik Chatterjee recently. He notes that “relatively modest exposure to China and largely immune to any trade-related impacts.” View CSCO Price Target & Analyst Ratings Detail 3\. Visa (V)– up 31% YTDCredit card and payments giant Visa continues to outperform. And now top-rated Wedbush analyst Moshe Katri has raised his V price target from $170 to $187 (8% upside potential). According to Katri, Visa benefits from a double whammy of "strong secular growth tailwinds," and accelerated, ongoing monetization efforts. He is confident Visa can deliver annual growth of 10% to 15% in credit-card revenue and 20% growth in adjusted EPS over the next few years.Encouragingly, Cantor Fitzgerald’s Joseph Foresi also sees a whole ‘basket of catalysts’ for Visa stock. Note that Foresi is ranked 2 out of over 5,200 analysts - so he clearly knows what he is talking about when it comes to stock picking. Not only does the company have a leading credit card position, it also offers significant opportunities for growth internationally and digitally. “We like Visa’s opportunity to capitalize on the global conversion of cash into credit, international opportunities, and digital payment tailwinds. Visa has a basket of catalysts expanding its TAM including Visa Direct, contactless payments, & B2B to name a few” writes the analyst. “We remain attracted to Visa's dominant position in the global card network market and its strong, recognizable international brand” the analyst told investors. View V Price Target & Analyst Ratings Detail 4\. American Express (AXP)– up 31% YTDVisa isn’t the only credit card company delivering sizable gains. AXP is also up over 30% year-to-date. What sets AXP apart is that it is one of only a few financial service companies capable of both issuing and processing electronic payment cards. This means the company can generate revenue from interest earning products on top of network processing transaction fees.For Merrill Lynch’s Jason Kupferberg the company continues to look undervalued. He has just reinstated coverage of AXP with a buy rating with a Street-high price target of $145. From current levels this suggests shares can surge a further 17% in the coming months.He calls the company’s credit card membership program “a worthy investment which offers customers unique experiences beyond traditional rewards points.” And even though costs have been rising as a proportion of revenue, the analysts writes that he has nevertheless “been pleasantly surprised to see [American Express] strategically raise card fees to help offset these costs.”View AXP Price Target & Analyst Ratings Detail 5\. Disney (DIS)– up 28% YTD Walt Disney Co is enjoying a wild ride so far in 2019. The company is gearing up for the launch of its highly anticipated Disney+ streaming service in November. “Disney is our top pick in the content space as we reiterate our Buy rating and raise our price target to $175” cheers Rosenblatt analyst Mark Zgutowicz. Meanwhile Loop Capital’s Alan Gould sees Disney +’s first year subscriber count topping the 10M consensus. Plus excitement is building over the opening of its highly anticipated $1 billion theme park expansion Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Starting June 24, the park will be open to the public without reservations. “The segment has been a key growth driver for the company over the last few years… Given the incremental returns from investment we are encouraged the company continues to invest in this segment with Star Wars Galaxy Edge” commented Zgutowicz. As if that wasn’t enough, Disney’s 2019 blockbuster Avengers: Endgame is now the second-highest grossing movie of all-time worldwide. And now Disney plans to rerelease the movie with additional scenes- a sneaky attempt to topple box-office leader Avatar from first place according to commentators.However, Imperial Capital’s David Miller has a word of warning for investors. He has just downgraded DIS from Buy to Hold, writing: "The core rationale for lowering our rating to In-Line is simply due to the fact that the stock has performed consistent with our previous Outperform rating.”“Most of the catalysts we focused on at the time of that ratings change: the film slate, the opening of the two Star Wars lands, the disposal of the Regional Sports Networks, the Disney+ analyst day, and the re-financing of the various 21st Century Fox legacy debt tranches, have either happened, or are set to happen, and at a record multiple on 2021 earnings, are pretty much built in to the stock, in our view" the analyst concludes. View DIS Price Target & Analyst Ratings DetailDiscover the Street's best-rated stocks over the last 7 days here

  • American City Business Journalsyesterday

    Need to know: Boeing caps Parisian affair, Amazon applauded in Alabama and old Times building reimagined

    Business Journal Managing Editor Rob Johnson recaps the week in Seattle business news and looks at the week ahead, including an interview with the CEO of the region's newest unicorn.

  • Investing.com2 days ago

    3 Things Under the Radar This Week

    Investing.com - Here’s a look at three things that were under the radar this past week.

  • Bloomberg3 days ago

    Oracle Women Fight for Class-Action Status in Gender Pay Lawsuit

    (Bloomberg) -- Call it the class ceiling.Women suing major technology companies for gender discrimination would have much stronger leverage against their employers if they could press their claims on behalf of a large group of female colleagues. But last year, the first two cases to reach that critical juncture -- against Microsoft Corp. and Twitter Inc. -- failed to advance as class actions.Now three women at Oracle Corp. are trying to persuade a state court to let them represent more than 4,000 peers in a case claiming that the database giant pays men better for doing the same jobs, in violation of California’s Equal Pay Act. They were to make their case Friday, but the judge postponed it to September after a brief hearing.It won’t be easy because the U.S. Supreme Court set a high bar for employment discrimination cases to win class-action status in a 2011 decision that blocked 1.5 million female workers at Walmart Inc. from pursuing their gender-bias claims as a group. The barriers imposed by the high court played into the Twitter and Microsoft rulings, both of which are being appealed.The case against Oracle was filed by former company engineer Sue Petersen and two other women, all of whom worked at PeopleSoft Corp. before it was acquired by Oracle in 2005.The women allege that Oracle for years has paid women less than men for “substantially similar work, when viewed as a composite of skill, effort, and responsibility, and performed under similar working conditions.” To bolster their bid for class-action status, the plaintiffs emphasize that company-wide compensation is determined at Oracle’s headquarters in Redwood Shores, California.Wrong ComparisonOracle contends the lawsuit wrongly compares women and men tagged with the same job codes even though such coding doesn’t mean the work requires similar skills, effort or responsibility, because Oracle’s products and services vary so widely.Relying on the codes doesn’t “account for the tools or programming languages an employee must master, the hours her work requires, or the number and complexity of the sub-areas of a product for which she is responsible,” the company said in a court filing.Dorian Daley, Oracle executive vice president and general counsel, said in an emailed statement that the lawsuit was “meritless,” based on false allegations and relies “on cherry picked statistics rather than reality. We fiercely disagree with the spurious claims and will continue in the process to prove them false. We are in compliance with our regulatory obligations, committed to equality, and proud of our employees.”Oracle is also fighting a case over gender-pay disparities brought by the U.S. Labor Department in the waning days of the Obama administration.The case is Jewett v. Oracle America Inc., 17-CIV-02669, California Superior Court, County of San Mateo (Redwood City).(Updates with Oracle statement.)\--With assistance from Nico Grant and Robert Burnson.To contact the reporters on this story: Peter Blumberg in San Francisco at pblumberg1@bloomberg.net;Joel Rosenblatt in San Francisco at jrosenblatt@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Steve Stroth, Joe SchneiderFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

  • Do You Like Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) At This P/E Ratio?
    Simply Wall St.3 days ago

    Do You Like Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) At This P/E Ratio?

    This article is written for those who want to get better at using price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll show...

  • Forward-Thinking NVDA Is Likely Still the Best Chipmaker Deal
    InvestorPlace3 days ago

    Forward-Thinking NVDA Is Likely Still the Best Chipmaker Deal

    Among semiconductor firms, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) is easily one of the toughest names to call. After suffering devastating losses in 2018, NVDA stock gained significant traction this year. At one point, shares gained over 47% against the January opener. But a deteriorating relationship between the U.S. and China quickly eroded sentiment.Source: Shutterstock Currently, the Nvidia stock price is hanging around just above $154. At this level, shares are looking at a year-to-date profit of 18%. It's an okay performance but after tanking like it did last year, NVDA cannot settle for this mediocrity. However, with a rough market impacting the semiconductors, investors are naturally concerned about the next phase for the chipmaker.In addition, Nvidia stock faces serious competitive threats. While competitors like Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) have so far produced ho-hum returns, that's not the case for Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD). Sharply contrasting with Nvidia's volatile ride, AMD has more or less enjoyed an upwardly linear trajectory this year. At time of writing, AMD gained 67% YTD.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips * 6 Stocks Ready to Bounce on a Trade Deal It's not just trading sentiment that has driven the smaller rival skyward. At the world's largest computer conference Computex 2019, AMD introduced an array of products. This time around, though, the company wanted to prove a point. No longer satisfied with producing lower to mid-tier "value" chips, AMD went toe-to-toe with Intel over the premium-products sector.If you just look at the statistics, it appears AMD is winning.Moreover, AMD has something for NVDA as well. The former's gaming chips are aggressively infringing on Nvidia's territory. For instance, AMD secured a deal with Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) to supply chips for the next-generation Xbox console.Is there any hope for the Nvidia stock price to stage a comeback? A Broader Scope Helps Insulate NVDA StockI think it's fair to say that semiconductors (and tech stocks generally) are emotional investments. Sure, fundamentals ultimately drive the markets. But sometimes, pockets of irrationality lever unusual influence on chipmakers.Right now, the Nvidia stock price is caught on the wrong end of this spectrum. We have a hungry rival in AMD -- which unquestionably attracts strong emotions -- seeking credibility at the alpha dogs' expense. Admittedly, they're doing a fine job of disrupting the CPU and GPU markets with their recent outsized chips.However, modern semiconductors can't just rely on producing products for PCs and gaming consoles. Based on the rapid changes in this digitalization economy, they have to think bigger. And few companies think as big as NVDA.That's the reason why Daimler's Mercedes-Benz teamed up with Nvidia to develop autonomous cars. In fact, the partnership extends much deeper. The German luxury automaker envisions a single system that carries both self-driving capabilities and smart functions within the cabin.Better yet, this deal isn't just a one-off benefit for Nvidia stock. Instead, the company is making a further push toward 21st century transportation. For instance, management recently inked a deal with Volvo. With this partnership, the two organizations are hoping to make autonomous trucking a reality.Specifically, Volvo will utilize Nvidia's artificial-intelligence platforms "for training, simulation, and in-vehicle computing." The goal here is to make driverless commercial trucks a practical and safe component of our transportation networks.This is two high-profile automotive deals within a half-year period. It begs the obvious question, why?Simply, over the last several years, NVDA stock has been much more than just an investment toward a fast GPU. Don't get me wrong; it's certainly that. But focusing only on this aspect misses the longer-term potential. Nvidia Stock May Lose Some Battles to Win the WarBecause NVDA is a much more complex animal than when it first started, the company can't win all its battles. That's why I don't think investors should be overly concerned about specific issues, such as Nvidia conceding ground to AMD over gaming-console chips.For one thing, Microsoft's announcement wasn't a surprise. Both Microsoft and Sony (NYSE:SNE) have had extensive relationships with AMD to supply their gaming chips. It's a lost opportunity for Nvidia, but nothing that would have me hitting the panic button.More importantly, I'd rather win the decisive battles. For instance, if autonomous vehicles become mainstream, Nvidia would have near-insurmountable dominance in this segment. Moreover, the autonomous industry -- unlike gaming -- has limited risk from Chinese competitors.I say this because underlining the trade war is both nations' desperation to gain a technological edge over the other. Winning in autonomous vehicles would lead to profound synergies, further expanding Nvidia's scope. * The 7 Best Dow Jones Stocks to Buy for the Rest of 2019 On the other hand, winning in gaming? That's a commoditized battleground that anybody with enough money can achieve. NVDA, though, is playing the long game which necessarily involves sacrificing nearer-term pleasantries. Still, in this semiconductor discount, I'd rather have my money go where relevancy is more likely.As of this writing, Josh Enomoto is long SNE. More From InvestorPlace * 4 Top American Penny Pot Stocks (Buy Before June 21) * 7 Blue-Chip Stocks to Buy for a Noisy Market * 5 Strong Buy Biotech Stocks for the Second Half * 6 Stocks Ready to Bounce on a Trade Deal Compare Brokers The post Forward-Thinking NVDA Is Likely Still the Best Chipmaker Deal appeared first on InvestorPlace.

  • With Alibaba, It’s Not About You, It’s About China
    InvestorPlace3 days ago

    With Alibaba, It’s Not About You, It’s About China

    Alibaba (NASDAQ:BABA) stock is reacting to the trade war with China by becoming more Chinese.Source: Shutterstock Lured by rules that allow listing of dual-class shares in Hong Kong, Alibaba has announced plans to raise $20 billion there after doing an 8:1 stock split. Dual class shares were forbidden in Hong Kong when Alibaba went public in New York in 2014.The split will make it possible to buy a share in the company, which opened for trade at about $166 on June 19, for just under $21. This makes it affordable to small Chinese investors.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsWhile American business writers file gigabytes about how to trade this or what it means to us, it's not about us.It's about China. Alibaba as ChinaAlibaba has become a proxy for what is possible to ordinary Chinese by combining the Horatio Alger maxims of co-founder Jack Ma with the absolute obedience preached by Chinese president Xi Jinping. * The 7 Best Dow Jones Stocks to Buy for the Rest of 2019 Alibaba bought the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong's leading news outlet, in 2015. It now finds itself caught between the Xi government and the demand of Hong Kong's people for autonomy. Millions of people, a substantial portion of Hong Kong's population, have participated in protests over a proposal to allow quick extradition, to China, of people accused of crimes.China's government could crack down, as it did in Beijing 30 years ago, stifling democratic impulses. But the price could be heavy. So far, the government has backed off its proposal, but has taken no further action.The Post has covered the story but has mostly focused on stories like a call to "restore business confidence." The protests threaten to overshadow the listing and the stock split. Ma's DreamWhile giving full autonomy to CEO Daniel Zhang and a new executive team and preparing for his own retirement in September, Ma is quietly making Alibaba more of a tech play and less of the retail play Zhang had crafted. Its Hema supermarket unit, for instance, will be split off. CEO Zhang told Reuters the moves are meant to "guarantee innovation." The moves indicate more focus on Alibaba's cloud, which is gaining the same global footprint as the American "Cloud Czars." But the Alibaba cloud, unlike the American clouds, is based on Alibaba's own business applications. The company need not worry about charges of being a "monopoly" since, to Chinese leaders, that's not a bad thing, So long as the monopoly is answerable to government power.Ma himself, who is China's richest man and also a member of the Chinese Communist Party, talks about going into teaching and philanthropy. He speaks of following the example of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) co-founder Bill Gates, who also retired from business in his mid-50s.But Ma won't be, and can't be, Gates, anymore than he can be Forrest Gump, the American movie character he so loves. That's because Ma is Chinese, and Alibaba is Chinese, subjects to a strong central government that hands out freedom with an eye dropper. The Bottom LineIn the end, Alibaba's moves could be a godsend to American companies like Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Alphabet's (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google, and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), which face calls in Europe and America to be broken up.Alibaba's market cap, at $435 billion, is a little over $100 billion short of Facebook. Breaking up the American czars would leave the market open to BABA stock. Cloud investors hope that fact will stay any trust-busting hands.Dana Blankenhorn is a financial and technology journalist. He is the author of a new environmental story, Bridget O'Flynn and the Bear , available now at the Amazon Kindle store. Write him at danablankenhorn@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter at @danablankenhorn. As of this writing he owned shares in AMZN and MSFT. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * The 7 Best Dow Jones Stocks to Buy for the Rest of 2019 * 5 Boring Stocks to Buy This Summer * 7 S&P 500 Stocks to Buy With Little Debt and Lots of Profits Compare Brokers The post With Alibaba, Ita€™s Not About You, Ita€™s About China appeared first on InvestorPlace.

  • TheStreet.com3 days ago

    Slack Slips as Red-Hot Public Offering Yields to Pricey Valuation

    Shares of Slack Technologies , the ultra-hot workplace collaboration tools vendor, were down Friday morning from their opening price on Thursday, falling below $38 versus the open of $38.50. The stock's mild retreat is partly reflective the day's weaker trading overall, with the Nasdaq Composite Index down fractionally.

  • IPO Success Makes Slack Stock A Gamble, Not An Investment
    InvestorPlace3 days ago

    IPO Success Makes Slack Stock A Gamble, Not An Investment

    Shares of Slack Technologies (NYSE:WORK) surged upward following its Thursday IPO. In one of the more successful IPOs of 2019, the corporate messaging company surpassed its IPO price by a wide margin as the Slack stock price surged as high as $42 per share before falling to $38.62 per share in the last hours of trading.Source: Shutterstock Still, despite this massive upward spike, the company must cope with financial losses and much larger competitors that could derail the IPO's initial success. Given the obstacles faced by Slack stock, investors should look at WORK stock as a speculative bet rather than as an investment. Slack Stock Spiked on Its IPO DaySlack stock shot upward by more than 48.5% in Thursday trading. Investors quickly bid prices higher on the San Francisco-based corporate messaging company, which set its IPO price at $26 per share. By the end of Thursday trading, the market cap rose to $19.47 billion.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsThe company also took a unique route to get Slack stock listed. Slack offered its stock to the public in a direct listing, selling shares directly to investors rather than using a pricier investment bank. Spotify (NYSE:SPOT) also listed their shares this way and enjoyed some initial success. * 10 Monthly Dividend Stocks to Buy to Pay the Bills Slack Holds Potential for High-Risk GainsWith the massive rise in WORK stock on the first day, the direct selling strategy did not hurt them. Given the initial move higher, I see some potential for short-term stock gains. It could follow in the footsteps of Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND), a recent IPO that rose more than eightfold from its IPO price at its peak. As such, investors could profit handsomely from a speculative bet on WORK stock.However, our own Will Ashworth seemed underwhelmed with both the direct listing strategy and Slack stock itself. Although the first-day performance likely surpassed his predictions, he may have a point as the stock carries a great deal of risk. For one, the spike higher from the first day of trading took the price to about 43 times sales. That does not match the levels of BYND stock or many of the cannabis equities. However, that comes in almost 20 times higher than the S&P 500 average of 2.2.In fairness, a company with a compound annual growth rate of 95% will likely not come cheap. However, continued losses for the foreseeable future make this a riskier play. Watch for CompetitionThe significant competition Slack faces also adds to this risk. Most of Slack's peers are smaller outfits with less name recognition. Unfortunately for holders of Slack stock, these competitors also include some of the largest and wealthiest companies in tech.Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) introduced Microsoft Teams last year. About 200,000 organizations use this tool. Moreover, the dominant player in personal chat, Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), has operated Facebook Workplace since 2016.Currently, Slack holds an edge with more than 500,000 making use of its tools. However, Microsoft and Facebook earn profits and hold billions in cash. If either of them chooses to compete aggressively, it could have devastating consequences for Slack stock. * 7 Stocks Flashing Signs of Strong Insider Buying The Bottom Line on Work StockAlthough the performance of WORK on the first day could add to the speculation, internal and external threats could undermine this company in the future. The massive spike in Slack stock bodes well for the future of the equity. Unfortunately, it could also suffer later if traders begin to seriously ponder the company's future.Even with massive revenue growth and market leadership, losses could eventually undermine Slack stock. Even more unsettling, both Microsoft and Facebook also compete in this business. Each of these tech giants holds enough cash to compete more aggressively for Slack's customers if they so choose.If one wants to buy Slack stock, the initial move higher could justify a speculative bet. However, one should buy this stock with the gambling money they were going to take to Vegas, not one's retirement funds.As of this writing, Will Healy did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned stocks. You can follow Will on Twitter at @HealyWriting. More From InvestorPlace * 4 Top American Penny Pot Stocks (Buy Before June 21) * The 7 Best Dow Jones Stocks to Buy for the Rest of 2019 * 5 Boring Stocks to Buy This Summer * 7 S&P 500 Stocks to Buy With Little Debt and Lots of Profits Compare Brokers The post IPO Success Makes Slack Stock A Gamble, Not An Investment appeared first on InvestorPlace.

  • The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Netflix, Spotify, Microsoft, Cisco and Facebook
    Zacks3 days ago

    The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Netflix, Spotify, Microsoft, Cisco and Facebook

    The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Netflix, Spotify, Microsoft, Cisco and Facebook

  • Why Adobe Stock Is Still A King Among Cloud Companies
    InvestorPlace3 days ago

    Why Adobe Stock Is Still A King Among Cloud Companies

    The reaction to earnings at Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) offered more proof that cloud applications are kings of this stock market.Source: Shutterstock Adobe, which moved its picture and video editors to the cloud early this decade, earned $632 million, $1.30 per share, on revenue of $2.744 billion during the three months ending in May. The earnings were 5 cents short of a year ago, well short of analyst estimates, but revenue was 25% ahead. Guidance was considered soft.But Adobe stock took off anyway, rising almost $17.50 per share over the next 24 hours, opening for trade June 20 at $294 per share. This added about $7 billion to the market cap, which stood at $142 billion. Adobe is up almost 29% in 2019 and over 300% over the last five years.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsPretty good for what is, by Silicon Valley standards, a mature company. The Marketing CloudAdobe was founded in 1982 around PostScript, a page description language, and during the rest of the 20th century it grew by acquiring other, related products for pictures and video. By the middle of the 2000s, however, it was languishing.Then CEO Shantanu Narayen committed the company to the cloud.Not only did Adobe find new profits by hosting its software online, but Adobe found new markets. In addition to its Creative Cloud, where you'll find most of its older software, its star product is now its marketing software, called Adobe Experience Cloud, designed to help create, and measure, online and offline marketing efforts. * 10 Monthly Dividend Stocks to Buy to Pay the Bills The result has been what TV analyst Jim Cramer calls the "golden age of creativity," with websites crushing brick-and-mortar retailers. This doesn't just help big retailers, but smaller ones like Rite Aid (NASDAQ:RAD), which is using Adobe to pull data from multiple sources and help pharmacists get treatments right with improved patient compliance.Along the way, Adobe has increasingly collided with Salesforce (NASDAQ:CRM) as both seek to become customers' Data Management Platform of choice for sales and marketing. So far there seems to be plenty of room for both. The losers are stores that don't use these new tools and vendors of older tools like Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL), which are now being bypassed. Facing FutureHaving creative and marketing applications in the cloud not only improves Adobe's own time to market, it lets all its customers stay on top of the latest trends in Web marketing and the fight against fraud.When Adobe learns how to detect faces that have been edited online, all its customers can too. When its new Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad software for artists, now called Fresco, is ready for launch, all its customers will get it at once.Narayen's key decision wasn't just to commit to cloud, but to partner with Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and its Azure cloud. The two companies are increasingly connected, with seamless integration between Adobe's cloud and Microsoft Office applications.This will inevitably lead some to talk of a merger, but don't expect one. Microsoft has learned, from its antitrust experience 20 years ago, not to consume the markets it creates. Close partnerships give it the dominance it craves without the risk of government interference. The Bottom Line on Adobe StockThe rapid rise in Adobe stock has some technicians putting up stop signs on it, but options traders who bet on a move higher were big winners.As cloud applications become the norm, ADBE has a clear field ahead of it. The only thing keeping it off some analyst buy lists is its valuation, well over 10 times sales and 54 times earnings.But in a hot market you don't get a diamond by buying zirconium, and ADBE stock skeptics are falling in line.Dana Blankenhorn is a financial and technology journalist. He is the author of a new environmental story, Bridget O'Flynn and the Bear, available now at the Amazon Kindle store. Write him at danablankenhorn@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter at @danablankenhorn. As of this writing, he owned shares in MSFT and AAPL. More From InvestorPlace * 4 Top American Penny Pot Stocks (Buy Before June 21) * The 7 Best Dow Jones Stocks to Buy for the Rest of 2019 * 5 Boring Stocks to Buy This Summer * 7 S&P 500 Stocks to Buy With Little Debt and Lots of Profits Compare Brokers The post Why Adobe Stock Is Still A King Among Cloud Companies appeared first on InvestorPlace.

  • General Mills, Douglas Dynamics, CDW, Applied Materials and Microsoft highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day
    Zacks3 days ago

    General Mills, Douglas Dynamics, CDW, Applied Materials and Microsoft highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day

    General Mills, Douglas Dynamics, CDW, Applied Materials and Microsoft highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day

  • Investors Should Avoid Intel Stock … For Now
    InvestorPlace3 days ago

    Investors Should Avoid Intel Stock … For Now

    Conditions in the market have quickly gone from utter fear to unadulterated cheers. Yet, when it comes to Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), I'd caution bullish investors what's gone up on the Intel stock chart, is also likely to come back down. Let me explain.Source: Shutterstock From May's pervasive and hard-hitting market correction and its attached-at-the-hip trade war concerns, Wall Street has gotten a case of the proverbial giggles in June. The upbeat shift has the S&P 500 hitting new all-time-highs Thursday. But when it comes to Intel stock and its chances for similar celebrations, investors shouldn't hold their breath just yet.Buoyed by strong earnings and fresh highs from tech giant Oracle (NYSE:ORCL), broker-driven technical leadership from Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), a bid in oil and FOMC follow-through, the broader market has its share of reasons for setting new records. The same, however, can't be rightfully said about Intel stock.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsShares of INTC have rallied this month alongside the market's own bid. In fact, Intel stock is up about 8% compared to the S&P 500's own gain of just over 7%. But I'm afraid that's as good as it gets for the chip giant right now. * 10 Monthly Dividend Stocks to Buy to Pay the Bills I'd caution competitive threats from Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) and Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) reinforced during Intel's analyst day last month and April's bearish outlook point to a challenging company-specific business environment that shouldn't be dismissed so quickly. And even if you are a contrarian and see the upside in Intel stock's current situation, a quieted but still lurking trade war threat could become an even larger enemy of the state for INTC. Intel Stock Weekly Price Chart Click to EnlargeDon't get me wrong, I'm not warning of Intel stock's demise and I'm certainly not bearish on its price chart. The provided well-detailed weekly view of Intel stock shows an abundance of Fibonacci and trend-lines spanning decades that continue to back the uptrend in shares. And INTC shares have moved favorably over the past month in appreciation of those technical supports.At the May bottom, Intel stock formed a bullish higher double-doji-pivot low backed by a flatter trendline developed over the past 18 months. The reversal also successfully tested the uppermost layers of a massive Fibonacci price band. And with stochastics sporting a supportive-looking oversold crossover, there's a lot to like on the INTC price chart going forward.But that doesn't mean buying Intel stock today is a good investment, even if you are a bullish contrarian.The current rally coupled with Intel stock's overall weakness of the past few months has shares testing resistance from prior trendline support dating back to 2017, as well as the 200-day simple moving average. It's enough of a technical barrier, that in conjunction with Intel's business risks, my recommendation is investors take a wait and see approach for the time being.If shares pull back in the coming couple of weeks and confirm the May low, buying Intel stock as a contrarian position prior to late July's earnings makes sense. I would, however, advise exiting before or after the report, if May's bottoming pattern is broken by more than 1%. If that possibility becomes a reality, it's my view the risks increase exponentially that an out-of-favor INTC could be facing even bigger challenges off and on the price chart in the months ahead.Disclosure: Investment accounts under Christopher Tyler's management currently own positions in Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and its derivatives but no other securities mentioned in this article. The information offered is based upon Christopher Tyler's observations and strictly intended for educational purposes only; the use of which is the responsibility of the individual. . For additional market insights and related musings, follow Chris on Twitter @Options_CAT and StockTwits. More From InvestorPlace * 4 Top American Penny Pot Stocks (Buy Before June 21) * The 7 Best Dow Jones Stocks to Buy for the Rest of 2019 * 5 Boring Stocks to Buy This Summer * 7 S&P 500 Stocks to Buy With Little Debt and Lots of Profits Compare Brokers The post Investors Should Avoid Intel Stock … For Now appeared first on InvestorPlace.

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They seem to recognize this, and are instead trying to ensure they’re the gatekeepers for their customers’ relationships with the cloud operators. Unfortunately for the network firms, the lock they have on those relationships can be tenuous.There are different ways carriers can try to control them. Just this month, Spain’s Telefonica SA announced it would sell Google Cloud solutions globally. Alone, that’s unlikely to generate much profit. But by inserting themselves into the transaction, they hope to be in prime position to offer additional lucrative services that run on a third party’s cloud. And when it comes to small- and medium-sized enterprises, network firms’ extensive local teams can offer comprehensive solutions. It’s less scalable than what the cloud operators do, but it’s still an opportunity.Others such as France’s Orange SA think that owning the cybersecurity layer is the best way to manage the process. That encryption key ensures they control enterprise customers’ cloud access, also making it easier to sell value-added services. Both approaches are a gamble. Cloud providers have their own cybersecurity solutions, for one. Convincing customers that a carrier can do it better might be tough.Increasingly, the operators have little choice. The likes of Amazon and Google are proactive in creating demand for their products. Their customers then turn to their telecom providers and request the cloud giants’ services. That all but forces them to play along.Consider Google’s new Netflix for games, Stadia. For a subscription fee, starting in November users can access a bevy of titles running on cloud servers rather than their own computers. They’ll be able to play on a computer more than twice as powerful as Sony Corp.’s Playstation 4 console using just a cellphone, which becomes little more than a screen and a controller. And since the data is never exposed to the public internet, carriers’ importance is diminished.A carrier who can boast about Stadia’s performance on its network might use it as a tool to win customers. The best gaming experience will have no perceptible lag, so the closer Stadia’s servers are to the user, the better.Amazon and Microsoft’s gambits, which are called AWS Outposts and Azure Stack respectively, have similar placement goals. While not yet widely available, they comprise server boxes which sit on customers’ premises – factories, oil rigs or offices – and provide a hybrid of local and cloud computing.The race to the edge really does risk turning the network operators into providers of dumb pipes: enterprise customers’ data enter the network via AWS Outpost at one end, and travel to and from centralized servers without being exposed to the public internet, remaining on a private network. 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