Microsoft is falling after the company issued weak guidance. Analysts are still optimistic

Analysts are sticking by Microsoft even after the company’s latest guidance was underwhelming. The company expects fiscal third-quarter revenue to range between $67.7 billion and $68.7 billion . Analysts polled by LSEG expected a forecast of around $69.8 billion. To be sure, Microsoft’s fiscal second quarter earnings and revenue exceeded estimates. Shares were down more than 4% following the report. That said, many analysts kept their bullish outlooks on the tech giant. Here’s what they had to say. Citigroup: buy, $497 per share price target Citi’s forecast calls for more than 12% upside ahead from Wednesday’s close. “We expect stock to trade down on the Azure hiccup but with likely positive EPS revisions given stronger efficiency and with a valuation multiple that is within historical ranges and at similar levels to other large-caps, with better growth/AI revenue at scale at MSFT we remain buyer,” analyst Tyler Radke said. Goldman Sachs: buy, $500 per share price target Goldman’s forecast implies about 13% upside ahead. “We believe Microsoft is one of the most compelling investment opportunities in the technology industry and across sectors,” analyst Kash Rangan said. “With a strong presence across all layers of the cloud stack, including applications, platforms, and infrastructure, Microsoft is well-positioned, in our view, to capitalize on a number of long-term secular trends, such as Gen-AI, public cloud consumption, SaaS adoption, digital transformation, AI/ML, BI/analytics, and DevOps (amongst others).” JPMorgan Chase: overweight, $465 per share price target JPMorgan’s outlook equates to 5% upside moving forward for Microsoft stock. “While MSFT shares are valued at a premium on a P/E basis, we believe this premium is warranted based on faster recent organic revenue growth, robust FCF generation, a relatively stronger position within the enterprise, and our belief that Microsoft has pulled ahead of the pack with a state-of-the-art cloud platform,” analyst Mark Murphy said. Mizuho Securities: outperform, $500 per share price target “Despite the disappointment, we remain confident that MSFT’s revenue growth opportunities over the medium-term and beyond are greater than many realize, and we continue to be very bullish on its tangible GenAI adoption and monetization levers,” analyst Gregg Moskowitz said. Deutsche Bank: buy, $475 per share price target Deutsche’s forecast implies more than 7% upside ahead. “With debate in full swing around the impact of AI scaling laws, Moore’s Law, inference time compute, etc. we believe Microsoft’s ability to capture value where it accrues across the stack with its integrated/fungible infrastructure is a differentiator and steadying force,” analyst Brad Zelnick said.