Goldman dumps Microsoft off ‘Buy’ list on mobile weakness

“Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analysts cut Microsoft Corp. shares to ‘neutral,’ citing the world’s largest software company’s struggles to gain market share in mobile devices,” Matthew Campbell reports for Bloomberg.

“Microsoft was removed from the bank’s Americas Buy List, with a price target of $28 rather than $32, Goldman Sachs analysts including Sarah Friar wrote in a note to clients,” Campbell reports. “The company needs to win ‘a firmer foothold in the growing migration to mobile devices’ in order to improve investor sentiment, they wrote.”

Campbell reports, “Microsoft has struggled to match mobile offerings from rivals including Apple Inc… Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft has yet to release a tablet computer to compete with Apple’s iPad, 3 million of which were sold in the first 80 days of its release.”

Read more in the full article here.

30 Comments

  1. I would expect that MS will slide a lot more then to $28.00/share. Most MS Shares are held by Retirement and pension funds Mangers of these types of Funds don’t like for core value stocks to lose more then a few pennies with Goldman dropping the target price by $3.00 is likely to start a slow and growing Microsoft selling wave. MS shares are likely to trim $10.00 off the price before all is said and done.

  2. I would expect that MS will slide a lot more then to $28.00/share. Most MS Shares are held by Retirement and pension funds Mangers of these types of Funds don’t like for core value stocks to lose more then a few pennies with Goldman dropping the target price by $3.00 is likely to start a slow and growing Microsoft selling wave. MS shares are likely to trim $10.00 off the price before all is said and done.

  3. “If Windows Phone 7 isn’t a massive success (which it won’t be) Ballmer will be “looking forward to spending more time with his family”.

    Please don’t talk like that. Don’t you want to watch him ride the ship all the way to the bottom? Keep him on board until “Windows Zune Phone 13 – Special Clippey Edition”

  4. “If Windows Phone 7 isn’t a massive success (which it won’t be) Ballmer will be “looking forward to spending more time with his family”.

    Please don’t talk like that. Don’t you want to watch him ride the ship all the way to the bottom? Keep him on board until “Windows Zune Phone 13 – Special Clippey Edition”

  5. @Mwwalk
    That was exactly my thought. M$ has underperformed for a long time. Its share price is lower than it was five years ago (without factoring in dividends (annual yield currently 2.63%). So why was it a “buy” in the first place?

    Analysts consistently downgrade a stock after it has underperformed for some time (after finding an excuse in the recent timeframe), and upgrade a stock only after it has overperformed for a while (e.g., APPL). The vast majority are not worth a fraction of the money that they are paid. If they were any good, then they could be independently wealthy trading on their own data. Enough said.

  6. @Mwwalk
    That was exactly my thought. M$ has underperformed for a long time. Its share price is lower than it was five years ago (without factoring in dividends (annual yield currently 2.63%). So why was it a “buy” in the first place?

    Analysts consistently downgrade a stock after it has underperformed for some time (after finding an excuse in the recent timeframe), and upgrade a stock only after it has overperformed for a while (e.g., APPL). The vast majority are not worth a fraction of the money that they are paid. If they were any good, then they could be independently wealthy trading on their own data. Enough said.

  7. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. once again prove their incompetence. Microsoft was a blatant ‘Don’t Buy’ two years ago when the Zune hit the fan. No wonder these dimwits hit a financial ice burg and helped sink the economy.

    Their next analysis: Dropping Palm off their ‘Buy’ list. Oops.
    ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”tongue wink” style=”border:0;” />

  8. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. once again prove their incompetence. Microsoft was a blatant ‘Don’t Buy’ two years ago when the Zune hit the fan. No wonder these dimwits hit a financial ice burg and helped sink the economy.

    Their next analysis: Dropping Palm off their ‘Buy’ list. Oops.
    ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”tongue wink” style=”border:0;” />

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