Microsoft Seen As 'Good Defensive Play' - Forbes.com

Microsoft Seen As 'Good Defensive Play' - Forbes.comMarket Scan
Microsoft Seen As 'Good Defensive Play'
07.21.05, 11:51 AM ET

Credit Suisse First Boston maintained a "neutral" rating and $28 target price on Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ), saying it continues to view the software company "as a good defensive play with reasonable prospects for share appreciation."

CSFB expects Microsoft to see upside in the current fiscal fourth quarter on stronger PC shipments. "Going forward, we suspect that revenue outperformance could be a bit tough as PC market growth rates slow ahead of the Longhorn OS release," CSFB said. For the fiscal fourth quarter, the research firm estimates earnings per share for Microsoft of 30 cents, although "we would not be surprised to see the company report 31 cents to 32 cents. We also could see some upside to unearned revenue guidance of $8.9 billion."

For the fiscal first-quarter view, CSFB said it wouldn't be surprised to see the company take a conservative stance with the new Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddle just coming on board and a weaker European environment. Elsewhere in the sector, CSFB maintained an "outperform" rating and $16 target price on Oracle (nasdaq: ORCL - news - people ).