11 Best Predictive Analytics Stocks to Buy According to Analysts

5. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Analysts’ Upside: 29.04%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 317

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. It is best known for its software products, which include the Windows operating system, the Microsoft 365 suite of office apps, and the Edge web browser. The company is heavily involved in Big Data analytics with Azure Synapse Analytics, which provides a cloud data warehouse designed for enterprise business intelligence (BI) and analytics on large datasets.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) reported notable Q2 FY25 earnings on account of ongoing growth in cloud and AI services. The company’s revenue came in at $69.6 billion, up 12% year-over-year, while operating income increased 17% to $31.7 billion. Microsoft’s net income also grew 10% to $24.1 billion, with diluted EPS reaching $3.23.

On January 30, RBC Capital Markets reiterated its Outperform rating for the MSFT stock, with a $500 price target. The firm recently announced its software industry estimate for 2025, and chose Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) for its broad market exposure and ability to profit from generative AI.

Bretton Fund stated the following regarding Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:

“Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has become the go-to provider of computing services for many emerging AI companies, and its franchise is much more diversified than Alphabet’s, making it a net beneficiary of the AI arms race. Demand for its cloud computing services continued to grow, and the rest of its business (Orce, Windows, Xbox, GitHub, LinkedIn) are also thriving, sending earnings per share up 22% while the stock returned 13%.”