Wall Street Analysts Bullish on Microsoft Corp.

Wall Street analysts are now almost universally bullish on Microsoft Corp., with Guggenheim upgrading the software company to buy from hold ahead of its quarterly results, Ryan Vlastelica reported for Bloomberg News.

Microsoft's stock has gained 24% this year. (Photo: Away Suresh Flickr)

The upgrade means nearly 99% of analysts tracked by Bloomberg recommend buying the stock.

Of the 73 who follow Microsoft, the only holdout is Hedgeye Risk Management, which maintains a neutral rating. None recommend selling.

Guggenheim’s upgrade reflects optimism about Microsoft’s strong position to capitalize on artificial intelligence (AI) breakthroughs.

Analyst John DiFucci wrote that “in a time when investors struggle to separate AI beneficiaries from AI casualties, it’s clear to us that Microsoft, along with the other hyperscalers, is a beneficiary.”

In addition to AI tailwinds for its Azure cloud computing business, “Microsoft has a near monopoly in the productivity suite market with its Office offering and therefore has been, and will continue to be, able to directly monetize AI offerings (namely Copilot) tied to that product suite.”

Microsoft shares rose 1.3% in premarket trading. The stock has gained 24% this year, outperforming the roughly 21% rise of the Nasdaq 100 Index.

Guggenheim issued a price target of $586, implying an upside of about 12% from Microsoft’s last close.

The upgrade comes ahead of the Oct. 29 release of Microsoft’s first-quarter results, where investors will be watching for AI-related growth trends and insights into the company’s spending plans.