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Investing.com-- Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares remain well-positioned for long-term growth despite their recent pullback, Evercore ISI analysts said in a note, reiterating an “outperform” rating and a $625 target price.
The stock has fallen about 7% since reporting strong fiscal fourth-quarter results, underperforming the S&P 500’s 2% gain over the same period. Evercore noted that the drop comes after a 61% rally off April lows, with shares still up 19% year-to-date.
“On a fundamental basis, we don’t see much to justify the recent underperformance,” Evercore analysts wrote, citing conversations with investors and Microsoft’s investor relations team.
The bank said Azure cloud growth of 39% in the last quarter was supported by demand for generative AI workloads and stable enterprise trends, with mid-30% growth in fiscal 2026 appearing reasonable.
Evercore said Microsoft’s ability to monetize AI across infrastructure and application layers over the next three to five years underpins its bullish view.
"Regardless of the exact reason for the relative weakness over the last month, our view is that you own MSFT for the long-term compounding nature of the business, and on that front, we remain confident that the company is well positioned to monetize AI at both the infrastructure and agentic layer when looking out 3-5 years," analysts wrote.
While acknowledging a few near-term catalysts before the company’s Ignite conference in November, Evercore analysts called the stock’s “wobble” an opportunity for long-term investors to add positions.