#1 - Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)
With a gain of over 16% in 2024 (as of December 26), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) will end the year as a laggard to the S&P 500. However, Microsoft is a behemoth among publicly traded stocks, with a $3.2 trillion market cap. And the company’s business touches on multiple areas of the technology sector including cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI).
A key story for Microsoft in 2025 will be its success in weaning away from OpenAI’s technology. The company’s plan, as detailed by Reuters, includes integrating proprietary and third-party AI models into its Microsoft 365 Copilot, which is closing in on 10 million paid users as of this writing.
And unlike many technology stocks, Microsoft still has a decent valuation. The company’s forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio sits at 33.8x, and the company’s return on equity (ROE) is 34.5%, which is a slight premium to other technology stocks but well-valued compared to other names in the sector. Analysts give MSFT stock a consensus price target of $509.90, which offers investors 16% upside, not including the company’s dividend, which has increased for 23 consecutive years.
About Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.
Read More - Current Price
- $430.53
- Consensus Rating
- Moderate Buy
- Ratings Breakdown
- 27 Buy Ratings, 2 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $509.90 (18.4% Upside)
