2. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 293
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) ranks second on our list of the best AI stories from this week. The technology company owns multiple platforms backed by artificial intelligence including Microsoft Azure, Dynamics 365, Power platform, and Microsoft Cloud. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is also reducing its reliance on AI hardware companies to produce efficient infrastructure systems for its AI products. Last year, the company introduced tailored AI chips including the Microsoft Azure Maia AI Accelerator and the Microsoft Azure Cobalt CPU. The Maia AI Accelerator is optimized to run artificial intelligence tasks and generative AI. The Cobalt CPU, on the other hand, is capable of running general-purpose compute workloads on the Microsoft Cloud.
Overall, Microsoft Cloud reported $35 billion in revenue, up 35% year-over-year. Like Amazon, Microsoft is also big on forging partnerships with groundbreaking startups. Earlier this year, the company partnered with Mistral AI, an artificial intelligence company based in France. Mistral AI is capable of bridging communication gaps across different languages. Under the partnership, Mistral AI will gain access to Azure’s AI infrastructure to help them develop the next generation of large language models.
The company’s efforts in AI do not end here. Two weeks ago, on June 17, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) announced its efforts to empower scientists with AI-augmented scientific discoveries at companies like Unilever. Its Azure Quantum Elements platform is a groundbreaking addition to Microsoft’s suite of AI products. The platform offers two distinct capabilities including Generative Chemistry and Accelerated DTF. The platform is capable of exploring novel molecular structures at groundbreaking speed and scale. Moreover, it can also dissect and simulate chemical and molecular structures. The platform will be able to expedite chemical research, compressing 250 years of research to only 25.
293 investors were bullish on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) at the close of Q1 2024, with total stakes amounting to $88.16 billion. Among them, Michael Larson’s Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust was the largest stakeholder with a position worth $15.36 billion. Wall Street is bullish on the stock.
On June 21, Citigroup maintained a buy rating on the stock and increased its price target from $495 to $520.
Here are some comments about MSFT from Mar Vista Investment Partners’ Q1 investor letter:
“Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) continues to occupy a strong position, poised to capture market share as businesses navigate the transition to a digital-first landscape and embrace generative AI-driven solutions. The company’s commanding presence in the enterprise arena, combined with its comprehensive product portfolio encompassing Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), establishes it as a crucial provider of IT solutions for companies of all sizes.
Microsoft is effectively executing its strategy in a sizable market by offering a roadmap for digital transformation and adoption of AI-driven solutions, such as ChatGPT, while enhancing productivity and reducing costs. Consequently, we anticipate that Microsoft’s solutions should exhibit resilience even in a more challenging macroeconomic environment, supporting low double-digit growth in intrinsic value within our investment horizon.”
