As reported by CNBC, Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) intends to reduce its workforce by 3 000, with the majority of cuts expected to occur in sales, due to restructuring efforts and a shift of the tech companys focus towards the Azure cloud platform.
Microsoft shares closed lower for the fifth time in the past eight trading sessions on Thursday. The stock went down 0.74% ($0.51) to $68.57, after touching an intraday low at $68.12, or a price level not seen since July 3rd ($68.02). In the week ended on July 2nd the shares of the tech giant lost 3.20% of their market value compared to a week ago, which marked the third drop in the past four weeks and also the worst performance since the week ended on May 1st 2016. The stock has neutralized earlier gains and is now down 0.52% so far during the current month, following a 1.30% slump in June. The latter has been the first drop in the past four months and also the steepest one since June 2016. For the entire past year, the shares of the NASDAQ-listed company gained 12.00%.
The expected cuts represent less than 10 percent of Microsoft Corporations total workforce and are to affect mostly employees located outside the United States.
According to CNN Money, the 32 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Microsoft’s stock price, have a median target of $77.00, with a high estimate of $83.00 and a low estimate of $45.00. The median estimate is a 12.29% surge compared to the closing price of $68.57 on July 6th.
The same media also reported that 24 out of 35 surveyed investment analysts had rated Microsoft’s stock as “Buy”, while 9 – as “Hold”. On the other hand, 1 analyst had recommended selling the stock.
Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels
With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, today’s levels of importance for the Microsoft stock are presented as follows:
R1 – $68.63
R2 – $68.69
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $68.75
R4 (Long Breakout) – $68.93
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $69.14
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $69.23
S1 – $68.51
S2 – $68.45
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $68.39
S4 (Short Breakout) – $68.21
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $68.00
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $67.91
By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) are presented as follows:
Central Pivot Point – $69.58
R1 – $71.06
R2 – $73.20
R3 – $74.68
R4 – $76.17
S1 – $67.44
S2 – $65.96
S3 – $63.82
S4 – $61.69
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