Not so long ago, word emerged about tech giant International Business Machines’ (IBM) plan to buy HashiCorp, an “infrastructure cloud company.” But not surprisingly, it quickly ran afoul of regulators. Though this time, according to a Wall Street Journal report, regulators in the United Kingdom. The new hurdle left IBM flailing, and sent shares down modestly in Monday afternoon’s trading.
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The Competition and Markets Authority is set to get involved in the purchase, where IBM will shell out $6.4 billion to get its hands on HashiCorp. While the involvement is modest at this point, it is still there. The agency is looking for “comments from interested parties” to be submitted by January 16, and a “provisional deadline” of February 25 to either allow the deal to go through or move it to “in-depth investigation.”
With the purchase, reports note, IBM will get access to HashiCorp’s lineup of clients, which numbers somewhere around 4,400 at last report. This could be a hefty boost of IBM, as not only will it be able to readily pitch those clients on IBM’s growing stable of cloud-related material, but also be able to target its own current customers with HashiCorp services.
A Quantum Computing Push
Meanwhile, ever since Alphabet (GOOGL) made its foray into quantum computing, others have followed suit. IBM announced its own plans to release “the largest ever quantum computer” with 2025’s arrival, noted a report from New Scientist.
With this computer’s arrival, the report noted, IBM should set a record for quantum bits, or qubits, and will ultimately see IBM release a quantum computer that is over three times larger than the current largest quantum computer. The quantum computing stakes are getting fired up in earnest, and ultimately, will reshape the computing landscape over the course of the next few years.
Is IBM a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on IBM stock based on five Buys, seven Holds and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 41.49% rally in its share price over the past year, the average IBM price target of $230.92 per share implies 4.63% upside potential.
