If You Invested $1,000 In Microsoft Stock One Year Ago, Here's How Much You'd Have Now

Investors who have owned stocks in the last year have generally experienced some big gains. In fact, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF SPY total return over the last 12 months is 66.3%. But there is no question some big-name stocks performed better than others along the way.

Microsoft’s Pandemic Run: One company that has been a solid investment in the last year has been professional software and cloud services giant Microsoft Corporation MSFT.

Fortunately for Microsoft investors, the COVID-19 pandemic actually boosted demand for Microsoft’s cloud services, remote work professional software and video game hardware and services.

In fact, Microsoft’s revenue was up 13.6% in 2020 to $143 billion, and its net income was up 12.8% to $44.2 billion. In the most recent quarter, Microsoft reported 50% Azure cloud services revenue growth.

See also: How To Buy Microsoft Stock

At the beginning of 2020, Microsoft shares were trading at around $159. By the beginning of March, the stock was up to $165 despite news of the coronavirus spreading in China prompting concerns about a U.S. pandemic.

Microsoft ultimately bottomed at $132.52 during the pandemic-driven March sell-off.

Fortunately for Microsoft investors, the dip did not last long. By June, Microsoft shares were back at new all-time highs above $190.

Unfortunately, while the rest of the market was making new highs in the second half of 2020, Microsoft was trading mostly sideways in a wide range of around $200 to around $230, though with a high of $232.86 in September.

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Microsoft In 2021, Beyond: Microsoft finally broke out to new highs in January 2021 and eventually made it as high as $249.96 in early April before pulling back to around $249.

While Microsoft’s valuation is currently historically high, it’s facing intense competition on all fronts and big tech companies are currently facing intense regulatory scrutiny. However, Microsoft is well-positioned in several of the biggest secular growth markets in tech. The company also has tremendously deep pockets to invest in innovation and can continue to find ways to put up impressive growth numbers quarter after quarter.

Microsoft investors who bought one year ago and held on have generated a decent return on their investment. In fact, $1,000 in Microsoft stock bought on April 6, 2020, would be worth about $1,636 today, assuming reinvested dividends.

Looking ahead, analysts are expecting Microsoft to continue making new all-time highs in the next 12 months. The average price target among the 30 analysts covering the stock is $280, suggesting a 12.5% upside from current levels.

(Photo: Coolcaesar via Wiki Commons)