IBM Acquires Digital Transformation Services Firm SXiQ

Technology major International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) recently announced that it has acquired an Australian digital transformation services company, SXiQ. The financial terms of the deal have been kept under wraps.

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Following the news, shares of the company rose marginally to close at $117.62 in Tuesday’s extended trading session.

This acquisition will allow IBM to strengthen its capabilities in Australia and New Zealand, as SXiQ is one of the leading providers of cloud infrastructure and applications in the region and serves industries like financial services, consumer products, energy, healthcare, and the public sector.

Management Commentary

The Senior Vice-President of Hybrid Cloud Services at IBM Consulting, John Granger, said, “Companies are very clearly deploying hybrid cloud strategies as interoperability, security, compliance and avoiding vendor lock-in are top of mind. IBM’s acquisition of SXiQ brings additional hybrid and multicloud expertise that is at the core of open innovation for clients.”

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Price Target

Recently, Morgan Stanley analyst Kathryn Huberty reiterated a Hold rating on the stock. The analyst, however, lowered the price target from $164 to $147, which implies upside potential of 25.5% from current levels.

The Street is cautiously optimistic about the stock and has a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 5 Buys and 3 Holds. The average IBM price target of $160 implies that the stock has upside potential of 36.6% from current levels.

Smart Score

IBM scores a 9 out of 10 from TipRanks’ Smart Score rating system, indicating that the stock is likely to outperform market expectations. Shares of the company have declined 0.46% over the past year.