Microsoft stock upgraded as subscriptions revive Office

Shares of Microsoft Corp. were upgraded to outperform from market perform at Cowen on Tuesday. The bank attributed the upgrade to improvements in its Microsoft Office business, as well as growth within its cloud-based service Azure. Both businesses are positioned for growth, with Office revenue growth expected to accelerate through fiscal 2018, said Cowen analyst Gregg Mosowitz, who has a $58 12-month price target on the stock. In the company's last earnings report, investors "largely overlooked" Microsoft's transition of Office to a subscription service, he said. Shares of Microsoft rose 0.8% to $50.44 in early trade. They are down nearly 2% from three months ago, underperforming the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is up 7%.

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