Strong Dollar is Crushing These 5 Stocks

2. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 259

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) reported on July 26 its FQ4 results, announcing earnings per share of $2.23 on a $51.9 billion revenue, gaining 12% year-over-year, which is the slowest growth in two years. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) said Q2 results were affected by $595 million worth of foreign exchange headwinds, more than its expectations last month, when the company said it was prepared for a $460 million forex impact. Additionally, Windows revenue was hit by $300 million on the back of China’s COVID shutdown earlier this year.

On July 27, Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives lowered the price target on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) to $320 from $340 and kept an Outperform rating on the shares after the FQ4 results. While the earnings and revenue missed the Street estimates, the underlying primary metrics around cloud and commercial bookings were robust and will be in focus once investors come to terms with headline numbers, the analyst contended.

According to Insider Monkey’s data, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) was part of 259 public hedge fund portfolios at the end of Q1 2022, compared to 262 funds in the last quarter. Terry Smith’s Fundsmith LLP is a notable stakeholder of the company, with a position worth $3 billion. 

Here is what Carillon Clarivest Capital Appreciation Fund has to say about Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in its Q1 2022 investor letter:

“Stock selection contributed the most while sector allocation was also positive. An underweight to communication services and an overweight to energy helped performance, while an underweight to consumer staples and an overweight to materials detracted. Stock selection was strong within healthcare and materials but was weak within information technology and industrials. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) reported positive results driven by personal computing strength, but analysts were especially positive on its growth outlook for its Azure cloud-computing services.”