Nasdaq MSFT MicroSoft

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We think that Microsoft’s stock (NASDAQ: MSFT) currently is a better pick compared to IBM’s stock (NYSE: IBM). Microsoft’s stock trades at about 14.6x trailing revenues, compared to around 1.5x for IBM. Does this gap in the companies’ valuations mak

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Vista Equity Partners will acquire a majority stake in Salesloft Inc, valuing the sales engagement software company at $2.3 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported https://www.wsj.com/articles/vista-equity-backs-salesloft-at-2-3-billion-valuation-11640217662?mod=latest_headlines on Wednesday, as a record year for private-equity tech deals nears its end.

Top Cloud Computing Stocks For Your Watchlist List TodayOver the past decade, we have seen the rise of many industries in the stock market. Certainly, cloud computing stocks are among the ones that have caught the attention of many investors. In today’s world, everything is

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Comparing units outstanding versus one week ago at the coverage universe of ETFs at ETF Channel, the biggest inflow was seen in the SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth ETF, which added 24,150,000 units, or a 10.7% increase week over week. Among the largest underlying components

The market was on fire yesterday, as receding omicron fears and renewed hope for the Build Back Better bill took stocks largely higher. With all the exciting moves in beaten-down cyclical stocks and small caps, another big story -- actually -- two stories -- around megacap tech s

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) has been in the news for its $16 billion takeover bid of Nuance Communications (NASDAQ:NUAN). According to Reuters, the European Commission gave an unconditional antitrust approval for the deal, spotting the absence of any anti-competitive fears.

Microsoft is a technology behemoth producing both hardware and software solutions for the sector. Meanwhile, Nuance is an artificial intelligence (AI) and speech technology company and serves about 77% of U.S. hospitals.

Following the news, MSFT shares jumped 2.3% to close at $327.29, while NUAN ended the day flat at $55.20 on December 21.

EU Antitrust Approval

Winning the EU Antitrust approval is a big step for Microsoft as it can go ahead with its proposed acquisition. In November, the European Commission initiated consumer and competitor reactions to address any anti-competitive concerns.

The Commission said that the investigation found no threat to competition in the markets for transcription software, cloud services, enterprise communication services, PC operating systems, and other products.

The Commission also stated that both companies offered very different products, and that there was no overlap between MSFT and Nuance’s transcription software services.

The company has already sought approval from regulators in U.S. and Australia. The acquisition is the second costliest deal for Microsoft, the highest one being the LinkedIn acquisition, worth $26.2 billion in 2016.

Commenting on the occasion, the Commission said, “The proposed transaction would raise no competition concerns on any of the markets examined in the European Economic Area.”

Wall Street View

Yesterday, SMBC Nikko analyst Steven Koenig initiated coverage of the MSFT stock with a Buy rating and a price target of $410, which implies 25.3% upside potential to current levels.

According to Koenig, Microsoft is well-positioned to capitalize on the digital transformation trends. He also stated that the company's best-in-class product offerings, leading market positioning, as well as solution selling capabilities give it a major advantage over its peers.

Wall Street’s Top Research Firms have given the stock a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 24 Buys and 1 Hold. The average Microsoft price target of $370.23 implies 13.1% upside potential to current levels.

Website Traffic

TipRanks’ Website Traffic tool, which uses data from SEMrush Holdings (SEMR), the world’s biggest website usage monitoring service, offers insight into MSFT’s performance.

In November, Microsoft website traffic recorded a 4.16% year-over-year decline in monthly visits. However, year-to-date website traffic growth increased by 15.20% compared to the same period last year.

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Dividend stocks can be a great source of income for retirees. However, all investors should consider dividend stocks as part of a balanced portfolio. According to a report by Principal Street Partners, from 1989 through 2018, dividend-paying stocks generated an average return of

Wall Street's main indexes closed sharply higher on Tuesday, with strength in travel and tech shares as well as in Nike and Micron Technology following their earnings, as stocks rebounded from a coronavirus-fueled rout the session before.

Wall Street's main indexes ended sharply higher on Tuesday, with strength in travel and tech shares as well as in Nike and Micron Technology following their earnings, as stocks rebounded from a coronavirus-fueled rout the session before.