In a noteworthy market development, Microsoft has recently overtaken Apple as the most valuable publicly traded company. This shift in fortunes was initially observed during intraday trading on Thursday and was firmly established by the close of Friday’s U.S. trading session. Microsoft’s impressive stock market performance saw a more than 3% increase in its shares over the week, elevating its market capitalization to an astonishing $2.89 trillion. Conversely, Apple experienced a decline of over 3% in its stock price, resulting in an overall valuation reduction to $2.87 trillion.
On the preceding Wednesday, Redburn Atlantic Equities analyst James Cordwell downgraded Apple from a “buy” to a “neutral” rating. Cordwell’s decision was driven by concerns regarding the limited growth potential of Apple’s iPhone in the coming years and apprehensions about the anticipated performance in the upcoming March quarter, expected to be underwhelming. Additionally, Apple disclosed that former Vice President Al Gore would be retiring from the company’s board next month; Gore had been a director at Apple since 2003.
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Meanwhile, Microsoft received a vote of confidence on Thursday as it showcased its artificial intelligence capabilities to developers at an event in San Francisco. Piper Sandler analysts expressed optimism about the robust momentum surrounding Microsoft’s mature AI products. They emphasized the positive trend in GitHub website traffic, which has steadily increased year over year for three consecutive months. Consequently, analysts have assigned Microsoft shares an equivalent of a “buy” rating, signaling their positive outlook on the company’s performance. Apple, which had maintained its position as the most valuable publicly traded company for over a year, faced periodic challenges from entities like Saudi Aramco and Microsoft in market capitalization, albeit temporarily.
