Microsoft could face some near-term pressure, but most analysts believe the stock remains a buy at current levels. The tech giant reported better-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday, earning $2.32 per share. Analysts on average expected earnings per share of $2.29, according to Refinitiv. Revenue came in at $52.75 billion, slightly below estimates of $52.94 billion. However, Microsoft shares were down more than 2% in premarket trading Wednesday after the software giant issued a lackluster revenue forecast for the current quarter. “In our commercial business, we expect the business trend seen in late December to continue into the third quarter,” Finance Chief Amy Hood told analysts during a conference call on Tuesday. The company’s Microsoft 365 subscriptions grew at a slower rate than expected. Growth for Microsoft’s identity and security services and business-oriented Windows products was also slower than forecast. MSFT 1D Mountains MSFT Still under pressure, most analysts covering Microsoft stand in favor of the stock. Citi analyst Tyler Radke said Microsoft remains “best ranked” among large-cap software names, adding that it offers investors a good mix of growth and profitability. Radke has a buy rating on the stock, and raised his target price from $280 to $282. Specifically, the analyst noted that “guidance looks more conservative to us, particularly in Azure, Windows OEM and OpEx, in an attempt to potentially derail FY23,” Radke wrote on Wednesday. “While it’s hard to call this the final cut (pending macro factors/recession risk), even on the low numbers, MSFT’s consolidated revenue and EPS growth is starting to accelerate from these levels, which we think could be a differentiator.” Morgan Stanley’s Keith Weiss maintained an overweight rating and $307 price target on the stock, saying the company’s near-term troubles make it an “attractive entry point into one of the best secular growth stories in tech.” Specifically, the analyst expects that the firm’s AI development is increasing the market opportunity for Azure. “Ease of comps, increased pricing, reduced FX headwinds and reduced opex all work to accelerate double-digit EPS growth by Q4, which should draw investors back to MSFT,” Weiss said. ” Meanwhile, Brad Sills of Bank of America reiterated a buy rating on the stock, saying there has been no change to his long-term bullish outlook on Microsoft. The analyst pointed to continued demand across Microsoft’s portfolio despite current macro pressures. “With results reported +/- 1% above guidance in each of the last 3 quarters and 3 quarters forecast in this environment, we believe Azure visibility is improving and the Q3 outlook Can be beat by a similar magnitude,” Sills wrote. “The commentary suggests that the multi-year signing remained healthy and that consumption headwinds are largely from macro pressures and not driving demand.” Sills expects he and Microsoft to maintain low double-digit growth over the coming three to five years. His $300 price target represents an upside of more than 23% for the stock from Tuesday’s closing price. ‘Premium valuation’ Gil Luria of DA Davidson was particularly bullish on Microsoft, saying the tech giant “deserves a premium valuation relative to the market and its Pac4 comparables.” The analyst expects the firm’s guidance to be “properly calibrated” to market expectations. “We believe FY23 estimates are now risk-free as the slowdown in Azure and PCs reflects 2023 spending trends. By reporting earnings early, we believe MSFT will be able to compete with the other Pac4 (AAPL, AMZN, GOOGL) and The software is in better condition than stock, which still has to be reset.” Expectations for 2023 expense reduction,” Luria wrote. Luria maintained a buy rating and raised the firm’s price target to $280 from $270. To be sure, not everyone has been as bullish on the stock. Keith Bachman of BMO Capital Markets downgraded Microsoft shares to Market Perform, citing “ongoing uncertainty” with its Azure cloud business. He lowered his price target to $265 from $267. Bachman wrote, We previously placed Microsoft on our negative watch list in our 2023 outlook note published in December 2022, based largely on concerns for Azure growth.” “Until Azure growth stabilizes, we expect the stock to be range-bound.” Let’s imagine.” —Michael Bloom of CNBC contributed to this report.