Analyst Update on Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) - Augusta Review

As earnings reports continue to roll in, investors may be taking a closer look at companies that they own. Staying on top of the most recent releases may help investors figure out if the company is well-positioned for future success. Taking a look at some earnings projections, we note that the current quarter EPS consensus estimate for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is 1. This EPS estimate consists of 14 sell-side analysts taken into consideration by Zacks Research. For the last reporting period, the company reported a quarterly EPS of 1.1. Sell-side analysts often provide their best researched estimates for what the company will report. These estimates carry a lot of weight on Wall Street and the investing community. When a company reports actual earnings results, the surprise factor may cause the stock price to fluctuate more than normal. Investors will often pay added attention to a company that has surpassed expectations by a wide margin.

At some point in time, traders may have to deal with the overconfidence issue when dealing with the market. Traders may have times when they go on runs where everything works out. This may cause the individual to become overconfident in their ability and possibly lead to uninformed decisions late on. When the good times are rolling, it can be easy to think that the winners are a direct result of skill. This may be true, but if this is incorrect, it can lead to portfolio damage in the future. Having is long string of winning trades is a great thing, but markets can be cruel and have the ability to turn very quickly. Approaching every trade with the same research and examination may help the trader to make better decisions when a string of trades eventually go the wrong way.

Wall Street analysts often give buy/sell/hold ratings for the companies that they track. Investors have the ability to view these sell-side ratings in order to help with their own stock research. Analyst ratings may have different interpretations. According to analysts polled by Zacks Research, the current average broker rating on shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is 1.24. This rating uses a scale between 1 and 5. Following this scale, a rating of 1 would represent a Strong Buy, and a rating of 5 would indicate a Strong Sell recommendation. Out of all these analysts offering ratings, 19 have rated the stock a Strong Buy or Buy, according to Zacks Research.

Shifting the focus to some possible support and resistance levels on shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), we note that the 52-week high is currently $115.61, and the 52-week low is currently $87.18. When shares are trading near to the 52-week high or 52-week low, investors may be watching for a break through either level. Investors may also be watching historical price action. Over the past 12 weeks, the stock has moved 0.71%. Going back to the start of the year, we can see that shares have moved 9.25%. Over the last 4 weeks, shares have seen a change of 4.49%. Over the last 5 trading days, the stock has moved 3.81%. Checking in on recent session activity, we have seen that the stock has been trading near the $110.97 mark.

Looking further at shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), we have noticed that the current consensus target price is $123.95. Wall Street analysts have the ability to create price target estimates for where they think the stock will be moving in the near-term. Because price target projections can differ from one analyst to the next, they may span a wide range of values. Many investors will closely track target prices, and they tend to pay extra close attention when analysts make revisions to those targets.

Investors will be closely tracking the equity market as we charge through the last couple of months of the year. They may be doing a review of the portfolio to see what moves have worked and which ones haven’t. Reviewing specific holdings and past entry and exit points may help the investor develop new ideas to trade on in the future. Staying on top of market happenings and the economic landscape can be a challenge. Investors will be closely following the action over the next quarter to help gauge whether the bulls will stay out front, or if the bears will take the lead.

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