Keith Weiss, an analyst at financial services firm Morgan Stanley, believes that Microsoft"s stock price will continue the upward trend that it has seen in recent years, eventually even reaching a record $102 as a result of sound investments in cloud computing and artificial intelligence.
Following a decade of the company"s share price mostly oscillating in the $20-30 range, Microsoft"s stock started to climb around 2013 and continued its upward stride at an even greater pace following the institution of Satya Nadella as CEO, a move that was greatly lauded by Wall Street. The stock soon soared above its historic highs during the golden age of Microsoft"s success in 1999 and has continued since, reaching a current $70 per share price.
Weiss believes that this trend will continue, with possibly even a 45% increase to a $102 price per share. As a show of confidence, Morgan Stanley has also increased its price target for Microsoft stock from $72 to 80.
Weiss credited Microsoft"s diversification beyond Windows as the source for his optimism in the company"s future, remarking, "machine learning and artificial intelligence trend will spur demand for the company’s Azure cloud computing service and it could add up to $110 billion in market value for Microsoft," ensuring the company remains relevant, and thriving, in the future.
He also approved of Microsoft"s increasing unification of its software platforms and its burgeoning presence in the hardware arena, which is also yielding impressive and growing profits.