Technology giant Microsoft (MSFT) has pulled ahead of chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA) in terms of market value as investors continue to shift capital into mega-cap tech names.
Microsoft is now the world’s second most valuable publicly traded company with a market capitalization of $3.37 trillion. That puts it behind Apple (AAPL), which is the world’s biggest company with a market cap of $3.75 trillion.
For Nvidia’s part, it has fallen to third spot on market cap list from first place in early November of this year. Nvidia now has a market capitalization $3.35 trillion after its share price has declined 8% since mid-November amid a broader pullback in stocks of semiconductor companies.
The $3 Trillion Club
Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia are not only the three most valuable publicly traded companies, they are also the only three with market capitalizations above $3 trillion, with Apple heading towards $4 trillion. MSFT stock has increased 8% in the last month while AAPL stock has gained 10% as investors pile back into reliable mega-cap tech stocks amid mounting concerns that inflation could return in 2025.
Since peaking on November 7, Nvidia has lost $305 billion in market capitalization as investors take profits and cool on the artificial intelligence (AI) trade. Still, NVDA stock is up 176% this year and one of the top performers in the benchmark S&P 500 index. Nvidia’s share price has also been pressured by concerns over an escalating trade war between the U.S. and China.
Apple’s stock has increased 30% on the year, and Microsoft’s share price has climbed 22% higher in 2024.
Is MSFT Stock a Buy?
The stock of Microsoft has a consensus Strong Buy rating among 28 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on 26 Buy and two Hold recommendations assigned in the last three months. The average MSFT price target of $497.36 implies 9.63% upside from current levels.
