Microsoft stock gains after Cowen joins the bull camp

Microsoft Corp. shares are up 0.4% in premarket trading Thursday after Cowen & Co. analyst Nick Yako initiated coverage of the stock with an outperform rating and $150 target price. He sees potential for Microsoft to post an incremental $100 billion in revenue by fiscal 2025, with the company's Office 365 and Azure cloud businesses to be the main growth drivers. "Despite its recent success, we see further opportunity ahead, as we believe double digit annual revenue and earnings growth FY20 to FY25 is more than achievable," he wrote. Yako said that Microsoft's gaming business "has potential," though there's some uncertainty about the company's success with first-party games. Microsoft shares are up 36% so far this year, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 15%.

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