Microsoft (MSFT): Why Analysts Raised Their July Stock Forecast

Microsoft (MSFT) stock is back up over $500, up 5.9% in the past 30 days. Analysts who were previously mixed earlier this year are raising their forecasts for the company’s stock. Over the last several months, the developer behind Windows has been taking an AI-first initiative, even shedding jobs to automate tasks with artificial intelligence technology. Investors appear to think of these moves as a positive and have sent their price projections for MSFT stock higher of late.
Melius Research analyst Ben Reitzes reiterated his buy rating on Microsoft stock and upped his MSFT target to $595 from $520. The stock currently trades at just over $502. The analyst says that the software giant will benefit as artificial intelligence applications drive more cloud infrastructure usage.
“The demand for AI-driven solutions should continue to drive increases in infrastructure capacity, with companies like Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Oracle investing heavily in AI compute,” Reitzes said in a client note. Fellow Magnificent-seven stocks Amazon and Google parent Alphabet have also seen gains this year despite bearish market conditions, thanks to their investments in AI. In the last month, AMZN is up 6%, while GOOGL is 4% in the same period.
Microsoft (MSFT) Benefitting from OpenAI Partnership
Furthermore, Reitzes commented on Microsoft’s mixed relationship with ChatGPT developer OpenAI. “While long-term, there are concerns that OpenAI and Microsoft are destined for increased conflicts of interest, the agreement seems to be favorable for Microsoft in general,” Reitzes said. “Even as OpenAI desires for Microsoft to own less than 49%, we see Redmond owning a huge piece of what could be a multi-trillion-dollar entity with OpenAI, no matter what.”
Also Read: Tesla (TSLA) Stock Climbs After Elon Musk’s Big Weekend
At press time, Microsoft (MSFT) is trading near the top of its 52-week range and above its 200-day simple moving average. The company’s stock is rated as a Strong Buy by Wall Street analysts, with a consensus price target suggesting a potential upside. Microsoft’s investments in AI are seen as yielding solid returns, positioning the company well for future growth in the AI innovation cycle. As the company continues to enhance its AI capabilities and cloud offerings, it remains a key player in the tech industry, and a top choice amongst Mag-7 stocks.
Microsoft (MSFT): Why Analysts Raised Their July Stock Forecast

Microsoft (MSFT) stock is back up over $500, up 5.9% in the past 30 days. Analysts who were previously mixed earlier this year are raising their forecasts for the company’s stock. Over the last several months, the developer behind Windows has been taking an AI-first initiative, even shedding jobs to automate tasks with artificial intelligence technology. Investors appear to think of these moves as a positive and have sent their price projections for MSFT stock higher of late.
Melius Research analyst Ben Reitzes reiterated his buy rating on Microsoft stock and upped his MSFT target to $595 from $520. The stock currently trades at just over $502. The analyst says that the software giant will benefit as artificial intelligence applications drive more cloud infrastructure usage.
“The demand for AI-driven solutions should continue to drive increases in infrastructure capacity, with companies like Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Oracle investing heavily in AI compute,” Reitzes said in a client note. Fellow Magnificent-seven stocks Amazon and Google parent Alphabet have also seen gains this year despite bearish market conditions, thanks to their investments in AI. In the last month, AMZN is up 6%, while GOOGL is 4% in the same period.
Microsoft (MSFT) Benefitting from OpenAI Partnership
Furthermore, Reitzes commented on Microsoft’s mixed relationship with ChatGPT developer OpenAI. “While long-term, there are concerns that OpenAI and Microsoft are destined for increased conflicts of interest, the agreement seems to be favorable for Microsoft in general,” Reitzes said. “Even as OpenAI desires for Microsoft to own less than 49%, we see Redmond owning a huge piece of what could be a multi-trillion-dollar entity with OpenAI, no matter what.”
Also Read: Tesla (TSLA) Stock Climbs After Elon Musk’s Big Weekend
At press time, Microsoft (MSFT) is trading near the top of its 52-week range and above its 200-day simple moving average. The company’s stock is rated as a Strong Buy by Wall Street analysts, with a consensus price target suggesting a potential upside. Microsoft’s investments in AI are seen as yielding solid returns, positioning the company well for future growth in the AI innovation cycle. As the company continues to enhance its AI capabilities and cloud offerings, it remains a key player in the tech industry, and a top choice amongst Mag-7 stocks.