5 Best Blue Chip Stocks to Buy According to Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital

02. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Adage Capital Management’s Stake Value: $2,037.649 million

Percentage of Adage Capital Management’s Portfolio: 4.67%

Number of hedge fund holders: 258

As of Q2, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) comprises 4.67% of Adage Capital’s 13F portfolio. It holds 7.9 million Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares worth roughly $2.03 billion. For Q2, Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management is the largest shareholder holding 28.69 million Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares valued at $7.36 billion. At the end of the second quarter of 2022, 258 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) worth roughly $56 billion, compared to 259 in the preceding quarter worth around $66 billion.

John DiFucci, an analyst with Guggenheim, began covering Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) on August 11 with a Neutral rating and a $292 price target. While he sees potential for growth in Azure and Office Commercial 365 to sustain Microsoft Corporation’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) revenue and free cash flow, he also sees an ongoing decline in Windows users that is “not fully reflected in consensus estimates.”

In its Q2 2022 investor letter, Baron Durable Advantage Fund mentioned Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and explained its insights for the company. Here is what the fund said:

“Shares of Microsoft Corporation, a leading global provider of software solutions, declined 16.6% in the quarter along with the broader software group as well as due to growing concerns of a potential macro-driven slowdown. This is despite the company posting strong quarterly financial results and successfully absorbing headwinds from the war in Ukraine. The company had 21% revenue growth, 23% operating income growth, and 35% growth in Microsoft Cloud (all year-over-year in constant currency), which now represents 47% of total revenues.

As discussed above, we continue to believe Microsoft remains a durable and growing business as companies across all industries look to digitally transform, taking advantage of the continuously expanding solution set Microsoft has to offer.”