September’s consumer price index report showed an 8.2% year-over-year increase in inflation, beating market estimates. This has aggravated concerns among investors and…
businesses about the possibility of a fourth consecutive 75-bps interest rate hike next month.
Legendary investor Mark Mobius foresees “interest rates in America going to 9% simply because if inflation is 8%, the playbook says you’ve got to raise rates higher than inflation.” The Fed’s unrelenting hawkish stance has raised the odds of the economy sliding into a recession and kept the market on edge. The CBOE Volatility Index has climbed more than 82% year-to-date.
Amid the volatile market backdrop, Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) and Biogen Inc. (BIIB) have been trending because of their inherent stability. Therefore, if you haven’t already invested in these stocks, delaying further may not be wise.
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)
MSFT, the ubiquitous software behemoth, needs no introduction. The company operates in three segments: Productivity and Business Processes; Intelligent Cloud; and More Personal Computing.
On September 20, 2022, MSFT declared a quarterly dividend of $0.68 per share, reflecting a 10% sequential increase. The dividend is payable on December 8, 2022. MSFT pays a $2.72 dividend annually, representing a yield of 1.19% at the current price. The 4-year average dividend yield is 1.07%, and the company’s dividends have grown for 17 consecutive years.
On September 6, MSFT emerged as one of the frontrunners for the acquisition of Aurora Innovation, Inc. (AUR), a self-driving tech company. Materialization of this acquisition would augment MSFT’s automation portfolio and is expected to strengthen its financial performance in the long run.
For the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2022 ended June 30, MSFT’s total revenue increased 12.4% year-over-year to $51.87 billion, while its operating income grew 8% from the year-ago value to $20.50 billion. During the same period, the company’s net income increased 2% year-over-year to $16.74 billion, while its EPS came in at $2.23, up 2.8% year-over-year.
For the fiscal year ending June 2023, analysts expect MSFT’s revenue to come in at $219.28 billion, representing an increase of 10.6% year-over-year, while its EPS is expected to increase 9.7% year-over-year to $10.10. The company has surpassed the consensus EPS estimates in three of the trailing four quarters, which is impressive.
MSFT’s shares have dipped 2.6% over the past month to close the last trading session at $236.15.
MSFT’s POWR Ratings reflect its promising outlook. The stock has an overall B rating, which equates to a Buy in our proprietary rating system. The POWR Ratings assess stocks by 118 different factors, each with its weighting.
Also, the stock has grade B for Stability and Quality. Within the Software – Business industry, it is ranked #10 out of 52 stocks. Click here for MSFT’s additional POWR Ratings for Growth, Value, Sentiment, and Momentum.
Biogen Inc. (BIIB)
BIIB develops, manufactures, and delivers therapies for treating neurological and neurodegenerative diseases. The company has a leading portfolio of medicines to treat multiple sclerosis, has introduced the first approved treatment for spinal muscular atrophy, and developed the first and only approved treatment to address a defining pathology of Alzheimer’s disease.
On October 17, BIIB announced that the…
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