Wedbush Reaffirms Outperform Rating for International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM)

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by investment analysts at Wedbush in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $320.00 price target on the technology company’s stock. Wedbush’s target price suggests a potential upside of 12.28% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on IBM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $317.00 to $283.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $290.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Evercore upped their price target on International Business Machines from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $380.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, HSBC raised International Business Machines from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the company from $218.00 to $231.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $294.41.

International Business Machines Price Performance

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

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IBM. Family CFO Inc purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Portus Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in International Business Machines during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new stake in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Business Machines News Roundup

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.