Microsoft Has Achieved A Record Value Of $2.6 Trillion

(CTN News) – In Thursday’s closing session, Microsoft Corp’s (MSFT.O) shares rose to a new record close as investors’ optimism about artificial intelligence (AI) prospects has boosted the market capitalization of the technology giant to a record $2.59 trillion.

The huge amount of money Microsoft has invested in OpenAI, the San Francisco-based startup whose flagship chatbot, ChatGPT, is widely regarded as a leader in the adoption of artificial intelligence in the software industry, makes Microsoft a leader in the adoption of AI technology.

In a move that seeks to challenge Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) dominance of the search engine market, Microsoft began rolling out a host of AI upgrades, including ChatGPT, in the Azure cloud services and Bing search engine last month, demonstrating Microsoft’s commitment to AI in an attempt to challenge Google’s (GOOGL.O) dominance.

Shares of Microsoft closed Thursday’s trading session up 3.2% at $348.10 per share, up from $346.97 the previous day. Stock price for the company, which has increased more than 45% in the year-to-date, reached its prior record close on Nov. 19, 2021, when it closed at $343.11.

This is the stock’s intraday record high, which was set on Nov. 22, 2021, when it closed at $349.67.

In addition, Apple Inc (AAPL.O) shares closed at $186.01 on Thursday, a record high for Apple Inc (AAPL.O), while shares of graphics chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA.O) set a fresh intraday record of $432.89 on Thursday as well.

As a result of JPMorgan analysts raising their price target on Microsoft’s stock earlier this week, they cited AI as one of the factors driving demand for the company’s products.

Based on the analysis of 53 analysts covering Microsoft, 44 of them recommended buying the shares, and the median price target for the company is $340, according to Refinitiv.

As part of JPMorgan’s note to clients, analysts wrote that they reaffirm their bullish-outlier view of generative AI and continue to see it as a catalyst for a resurgence in confidence in key software franchises.

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