International Business Machines' (IBM) Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at Wedbush

Key Points

• Wedbush reaffirmed its “outperform” rating on IBM and kept a $320 price target, implying about 12% upside from the stock’s recent price.
• IBM has broader analyst support as well, with MarketBeat showing a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $294.41.
• The company also reported better-than-expected quarterly results, including EPS of $1.91 versus estimates of $1.81 and revenue growth of 9.5% year over year.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating restated by stock analysts at Wedbush in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $320.00 price target on the technology company's stock. Wedbush's target price indicates a potential upside of 12.28% from the stock's current price.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on IBM. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $370.00 to $320.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on International Business Machines from $290.00 to $270.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group raised International Business Machines from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $236.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Erste Group Bank downgraded International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Argus set a $360.00 price target on International Business Machines in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $294.41.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

IBM traded up $20.78 during trading on Friday, reaching $285.00. 2,670,597 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,385,919. The company has a market capitalization of $267.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.21, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $239.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $270.79. International Business Machines has a fifty-two week low of $212.34 and a fifty-two week high of $324.90.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.10. International Business Machines had a net margin of 15.61% and a return on equity of 37.23%. The company had revenue of $15.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that International Business Machines will post 12.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 424.6% during the 4th quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 260,740 shares of the technology company's stock worth $77,234,000 after acquiring an additional 211,040 shares in the last quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA now owns 18,288 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $5,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,930 shares in the last quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 993,743 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $280,439,000 after purchasing an additional 32,072 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 13,122 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,887,000 after purchasing an additional 3,029 shares during the period. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its position in International Business Machines by 51.7% during the third quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 114,395 shares of the technology company's stock worth $32,278,000 after purchasing an additional 38,973 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about International Business Machines

Here are the key news stories impacting International Business Machines this week:

• Positive Sentiment: IBM unveiled a combined $15 billion strategic push that includes a $5 billion Project Lightwell initiative with Red Hat to secure open-source software using AI, plus a $10 billion plan to accelerate quantum computing research and development through 2029. Investors appear to be rewarding the scale of the investment and its focus on high-growth, high-margin enterprise opportunities. IBM and Red Hat Commit $5 Billion to Redefine the Future of Open Source in the AI Era
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators highlighted that IBM’s new cybersecurity and quantum spending could “future-proof” the business, helping support sentiment around IBM as a leading enterprise tech and infrastructure stock. IBM shares rise after unveiling $15B cybersecurity and quantum investment plan
• Positive Sentiment: The stock also got a lift from broader tech-sector strength, with reports noting IBM was moving higher in premarket trading as the market rallied and as investors rotated into large-cap technology names. What's Going On With IBM Stock Friday?
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles framed IBM as benefiting from its growing role in quantum computing, but also noted the broader industry backdrop: quantum computing is still early-stage, so these investments are more about positioning than near-term earnings.
• Neutral Sentiment: One report mentioned rising concerns that advances in quantum computing could eventually threaten crypto security. That theme is more indirect for IBM, though it underscores why IBM’s quantum progress is getting attention from investors.

International Business Machines Company Profile

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is a global technology and consulting company headquartered in Armonk, New York. Founded in 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) and renamed IBM in 1924, the company has evolved from early electromechanical machines to a diversified technology provider serving enterprises and governments worldwide. IBM is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol IBM.

IBM's principal businesses encompass cloud computing and software, infrastructure and systems, consulting and technology services, and research and development.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.