Microsoft’s market capitalization climbed to an unprecedented $2.59 trillion Thursday as its stock extended gains. The tech giant’s shares have rallied more than 45% so far this year, buoyed by the investor frenzy over AI-related stocks. Microsoft has been viewed as one of the lead adopters of AI technology among software companies. Loading Something is loading.
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Microsoft’s stock price hit an all-time high on Thursday, boosting its market value to an unprecedented $2.59 trillion, buoyed by a wave of investor ebullience over artificial intelligence.
The tech giant’s stock rose 3.2% to $348.1 on Thursday. They extended gains in Friday’s pre-market trading to reach $350.25.
Microsoft is widely seen as one of the leaders of the ongoing AI revolution – given that it’s an investor in ChatGPT parent OpenAI, has embedded the tools into its Bing web browser and is looking to extend that to its complete lineup of applications.
JPMorgan analysts lifted their target on Microsoft’s share price earlier on Thursday, from $315 to $350, and made note of the company’s forward-looking investments in AI.
“We reaffirm our bullish-outlier viewpoint on generative AI and continue to see it driving a resurgence of confidence in key software franchises,” the analysts wrote in a note, per Reuters.
Microsoft’s stock has extended its year-to-date rally to over 45%. Tech stocks have outperformed this year after a dismal 2022, benefiting from the hype over AI as well as investor expectations that the Federal Reserve will soon end its aggressive interest-rate increases.
Other mega-cap tech companies — like chipmaker Nvidia in particular, which briefly touched the $1 trillion valuation mark — have led the market’s rally since the beginning of 2023, with the S&P 500 gaining 15% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advancing 31% so far this year.