A study of analyst recommendations at the major brokerages shows that Microsoft Corporation (Symbol: MSFT) is the #3 broker pick, on average, out of the 30 stocks making up the Dow Jones Industrial Average, according to ETF Channel. Microsoft Corporation is also a top tier analyst pick among the broader S&P 500 index components, claiming the #12 spot out of 500.
Below is a chart of rank over time:

MSFT operates in the Application Software sector, among companies like Oracle Corp (ORCL) which is off about 2.3% today, and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA) trading relatively unchanged. Below is a three month price history chart comparing the stock performance of MSFT, versus ORCL and BABA.

MSFT is currently trading down about 0.3% midday Tuesday.
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