DA Davidson starts Microsoft at Buy, believes ChatGPT can unseat Google Search

DA Davidson analyst Gil Luria initiated coverage of Microsoft (MSFT) with a Buy rating and $270 price target. The stock warrants a premium valuation as the company should be resilient heading into a potential global economic downturn, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Luria adds that in the short term, the unprecedented activity in OpenAI’s ChatGPT is translating to incremental volumes for Azure. Longer term, incorporating ChatGPT capabilities into Bing may provide Microsoft with a once-a-decade opportunity to unseat Google’s (GOOGL) Search dominance, the analyst adds.