Microsoft Bulls Abound as Shares Rise to Record Before Earnings

Microsoft was trading at a record high yesterday as it prepared to release its latest quarterly results and Wall Street kept sounding a bullish call, according to Bloomberg.

The company now has 31 buy ratings, up from 26 at the start of this year and the most since late 2010. While analysts’ earnings-per-share estimates are little changed since May, their average price target for the stock has climbed. They predict the shares will increase 7.5 percent over the next 12 months, compared with a 5.5 percent average gain seen among the 36 stocks in the S&P.

Microsoft has climbed more than 20 percent this year as investors grow increasingly confident in its push toward cloud computing. While the company has made headway there, it faces tough competition from deep-pocketed rivals including Amazon and Google.

Just this week, Raymond James Financial analyst Michael Turits, who has a strong buy recommendation on Microsoft’s shares, increased his target price by 13 percent to $124. He said in a research note that the company’s success in pushing its products through partners and positioning itself as a cloud leader present upsides for long-term growth forecasts and pointed out that PC shipments are up for the first time in six years.

Analysts at Bank of America and Piper Jaffray each also raised their price targets as the company is set to report its fiscal fourth-quarter results after the close of trading Thursday. The average earnings-per-share estimate is $1.08.