Shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) rallied on Friday after the technology titan unveiled new artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities for its redesigned Copilot app.
Missed AI’s “Act 1”? Act 2 Could Be 15x Bigger. Most investors think they missed the AI boat because they didn’t buy Nvidia in 2005. But according to our analysts, we’re only at the end of “Act 1″—the R&D phase. “Act 2” is the global rollout. Continue »
Microsoft’s new AI tools are designed to boost workplace productivity
Copilot users will now have access to the full functionality of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint within the app. There’s also a new starting point called Home that integrates Chat and Cowork, an agentic AI-powered tool that can execute multi-step tasks.
Microsoft is also bringing intuitive, natural language coding tools to Copilot. Additionally, Autopilot, which Microsoft bills as a digital teammate, will add personal agent-like functionality to the app.
Analysts are getting more bullish on Microsoft’s stock
Wall Street is becoming more optimistic about Microsoft’s AI-fueled growth prospects. Stifel analyst Brad Reback upgraded his rating on the tech stock from hold to buy and raised his share price forecast from $530 to $575. His new price target implies potential gains of 11% for investors who buy shares near Friday’s closing price of $516.17.
Reback expects Microsoft’s new Copilot features to help it grow revenue by at least a mid-teens rate in the coming years. At the same time, he expects Microsoft’s Azure cloud infrastructure platform to see efficiency gains as semiconductor chips, opens-source AI models, and software improve.
Should you buy stock in Microsoft right now?
Before you buy stock in Microsoft, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Microsoft wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut are built for long-term growth and could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $386,781!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,379,943!*
That performance is why people listen. With a track record of beating the S&P 500 by 4x, Stock Advisor offers a distinct advantage. Don’t miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built for the long haul.
