Microsoft shares could rise 30 pct in 18 months - Barron's

Reuters
A Microsoft sign is pictured at its Finnish headquarters in Espoo, Finland July 8, 2015. REUTERS/Mikko Stig/Lehtikuva/Files

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp shares could rise 30 percent in the next 18 months as the tech giant is helped by its cloud computing business, according to an article in the latest edition of Barron's. Many big investors believe Microsoft is worth far more than the average analyst price target of $57 a share, the article said. Microsoft shares closed at $54.13 on Friday. "I think we see over $70 in 18 months, and, along the way, they're going to pay you a nice dividend," Chris Bonavico, a portfolio manager at Jackson Square Partners, is quoted as saying in the article. (Reporting by Lewis Krauskopf in New York)