FBR Capital Ups MSFT To Buy And Raises Target Price

Analyst ratings for Microsoft MSFT were upped to “buy” today by FBR Capital Markets, believing that the stock was rated too far toward sell. The price target for MSFT was also raised to $32 from $31 as the computer giant has several strong new products in the pipeline through 2011. Negative investor sentiments, triggered by worries over Europe, led to a 20% decline in Microsoft shares over the past month. The fact that MSFT continues to be left out of the mobile Internet craze has also played a role in the fall of the company’s share price. It seems that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is dissatisfied with the dreary performance shown by the company’s non-core business. This was evidenced when the company axed two of its top consumer product executives in games and mobile. When Apple AAPL exceeded MSFT’s market capitalization yesterday to grab the position of the highest valued tech shop on Wall Street, FBR saw it as the potential low point for the stock. By 1:14 pm, MSFT had surged 3.95% to $25.99. Read more from Benzinga's Company news.