Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) shares rose to a new all-time high Thursday, a week after reporting earnings that beat expectations, and affirmed its place as the Dow’s best-performing stock for the year to date. The stock added 1.33% for the week (including a dip of 1.7% on Friday). For the year to date, Microsoft shares have risen by 25.9%.
The second-best performer among the Dow Jones industrial average equities so far this year is Visa Inc. (NYSE: V), which is up 23.4%. That is followed by Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE), up 22.9%, Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA), up 222.3%, and UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH), up 16.1%. Of the 30 Dow stocks, 17 have managed to post a gain to date in 2018.
The blue-chip index added nearly 393 points over the course of the past week to close at 25,451.06, up about 1.5% from the previous Friday’s close. For the year to date, the index is up just 0.4%. The Dow closed up less than 1% for the second quarter but down 1.8% for the first six months of 2018.
Tech stocks had a tough week. First Facebook reported that growth was not as high as expected and the stock dropped 20% overnight. On Friday, Twitter and Intel earnings reports did the damage. The entire tech sector shared the pain, losing nearly 1.2% over the course of the week, including a 2% loss on Friday alone.
Microsoft’s story since reporting earnings has been one of ratings upgrades and price target increases. Here are some highlights:
- JPMorgan: maintained Buy rating with a new price target of $115
- KeyCorp: maintained Overweight rating and raised price target from $110 to $123
- Citigroup: maintained Neutral rating and boosted price target from $100 to $113
- Wells Fargo: raised rating from Outperform to Buy and raised price target from $115 to $120
- Sanford C. Bernstein: maintained Buy rating and set a price target at $135
- Goldman Sachs: maintained Buy rating and set a price target at $125
Microsoft’s shares closed Friday at $107.68, in a 52-week trading range of $71.28 to $111.15. The consensus 12-month price target on the stock rose by more than $8.00 a share week over week to $121.67.
Travel Cards Are Getting Too Good To Ignore (sponsored)
Credit card companies are pulling out all the stops, with the issuers are offering insane travel rewards and perks.
We’re talking huge sign-up bonuses, points on every purchase, and benefits like lounge access, travel credits, and free hotel nights. For travelers, these rewards can add up to thousands of dollars in flights, upgrades, and luxury experiences every year.
It’s like getting paid to travel — and it’s available to qualified borrowers who know where to look.
We’ve rounded up some of the best travel credit cards on the market. Click here to see the list. Don’t miss these offers — they won’t be this good forever.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
Our expert who first called NVIDIA in 2009 is predicting 2025 will see a historic AI breakthrough.
You can follow him investing $500,000 of his own money on our top AI stocks for free.