Shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) were up 3.5% as of 1:31 p.m. ET on Monday, following favorable analyst notes. Mizuho Securities and Morgan Stanley both maintained their overweight and buy ratings, respectively, ahead of Microsoft's next earnings report on Oct. 25.
Normally, analyst calls don't have much weight for long-term investors, given Wall Street's short-term focus, but these calls highlight Microsoft's strength in a relatively weak PC market. Microsoft has a diversified revenue stream across the consumer and commercial markets, which Morgan Stanley believes will help offset the PC industry's weakness in the near term.
A weak PC market has dragged Microsoft stock down 30% year to date, underperforming the S&P 500 index loss of 23%.
Source Fool.com