Microsoft
hosts a shareholder meeting on Thursday, and Wedbush expects some discussion of the software firm’s next steps following the OpenAI drama.
It is likely that Microsoft management will reflect on the year that is about to end, while also discussing the company’s future. There will be talk about Microsoft’s financial performance, and its positioning in artificial intelligence.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, who rates Microsoft stock at Outperform with a $425 price target, wrote in a research note that the meeting “caps a trophy case year.” Coming into the session Thursday, Microsoft stock has gained 54% so far this year. Investors have bought up shares on excitement around what the future of AI and the cloud could mean for the company.
“We look forward to hearing any comments from [Chairman and CEO Satya] Nadella & Co. on the company’s AI strategy post the OpenAI soap opera with a bullish strategic outlook that is essentially the torch bearer of the global AI Revolution,” Ives said.
Microsoft has a 49% stake in OpenAI, the parent company of popular generative AI platform ChatGPT. The tech giant had a major role to play during the drama that unfolded in November when OpenAI’s board fired CEO Sam Altman. Microsoft offered to hire OpenAI employees that wanted to leave after Altman’s ousting.
Microsoft’s annual shareholder meeting will take place virtually at 11:30 a.m. ET. Microsoft stock was slightly lower at $368.46 in early Thursday trading.
Write to Angela Palumbo at [email protected]
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