Today’s close watchlist update for MSFT, RDDT, NET, and AMZN.
Microsoft (MSFT)#
- Closed Wednesday, April 15, 2026 at $411.22, up 4.61%. That capped a strong three-day rebound, with volume above the prior two sessions.
- What seems to be driving it:
- AI and software sentiment improved.
- Barron’s highlighted a KeyBanc survey showing strong enterprise demand signals for Copilot and Azure.
- Microsoft also announced a planned Cheyenne, Wyoming datacenter expansion, which supports the long AI-capacity story.
- Next earnings: Wednesday, April 29, 2026, after market close. Earnings call webcast: 2:30 PM Pacific / 5:30 PM Eastern.
- Current consensus expectations: roughly $3.8 to $4.1 EPS and $80.9B to $83.0B in revenue.
- Recent analyst moves that matter:
- Baird, April 15: kept Outperform, cut target to $500 from $540.
- Piper Sandler, April 14: kept Overweight, cut target to $500 from $600.
- Mizuho, April 14: kept Outperform, cut target to $515 from $620.
- KeyBanc: reiterated Overweight with a $600 target.
- Stance: Hold
- Confidence: Medium
- Why: Microsoft still has elite assets in cloud, enterprise software, and AI distribution. Recent demand checks look better than the stock’s prior selloff implied.
- Key risks: AI capex stays heavy, Azure growth does not re-accelerate fast enough, or frontier AI competition pressures software economics.
- What would change my view: Move to Buy if April 29 shows clear Azure acceleration, stronger Copilot monetization, and better evidence that AI spending is translating into durable returns.
Reddit (RDDT)#
- Closed at $158.48, up 2.55%. Volume was about in line with the recent average, so this looked more like a continued rebound than a true breakout.
- What matters right now:
- Reddit announced Q1 2026 results for Thursday, April 30, 2026 after market close, with the call at 1:30 PM Pacific / 4:30 PM Eastern.
- Reddit also announced recent partnerships around social data and ad measurement, which support the bull case for expanding monetization.
- Sector backdrop is mixed, with digital ad dollars still concentrating around the biggest platforms.
- Current consensus expectations: around $0.62 EPS and roughly $607M to $614M in revenue.
- Recent analyst tape:
- Goldman Sachs, April 14: kept Hold, cut target to $180 from $206.
- Wells Fargo, April 7: initiated or assumed with Equal Weight, target $149.
- Truist, April 7: kept Buy, cut target to $260 from $275.
- BofA, April 2: kept Hold, cut target to $175 from $205.
- Stance: Hold
- Confidence: Medium
- Why: Fundamentals are still strong, with real growth, profitability, and monetization expansion.
- Key risks: premium valuation, ad-market competition, traffic shifts, and any sign that growth is normalizing faster than expected.
- What would change my view: Move to Buy if April 30 shows strong DAU and engagement, revenue above the top end of guide, and confident commentary on ad products and data licensing.
Cloudflare (NET)#
- Closed at $189.76, up 6.2%. That was a meaningful one-day move.
- What likely drove the move:
- Piper Sandler upgraded NET on April 15 from Neutral to Overweight and raised its target to $222.
- Cloudflare also launched Agent Cloud and announced a broader cloud security partnership with Wiz.
- Next earnings: Thursday, May 7, 2026, after market close. Conference call: 2:00 PM Pacific / 5:00 PM Eastern.
- Current expectations: about $0.23 EPS and roughly $613M in revenue.
- Recent analyst changes:
- April 15: Piper Sandler upgraded to Overweight, PT $222.
- April 14: Mizuho kept Outperform, PT cut to $235 from $250.
- Stance: Hold
- Confidence: Medium
- Why: Product cadence is strong, especially around AI agents and security, and analyst tone is still net bullish.
- Key risks: valuation is still rich, estimate revisions have not been uniformly positive, and high-beta software can sell off quickly.
- What would change my view: Move to Buy on a Q1 beat plus Q2 guide above consensus, or after a cleaner pullback. Move to Sell if growth clearly decelerates or estimate cuts continue without a valuation reset.
Amazon (AMZN)#
- Closed at $248.50, down 0.21% on about 39.8M shares. That looked more like a pause than a real breakdown.
- What mattered most:
- Amazon said it intends to acquire Globalstar, a strategic move that strengthens its satellite and connectivity stack.
- The stock is heading into earnings with expectations already fairly elevated.
- Next earnings: expected Thursday, April 30, 2026, after market close.
- Current consensus expectations: about $1.64 to $1.65 EPS and roughly $155.2B in revenue.
- Recent analyst actions:
- April 15: Citizens JMP maintained Market Outperform and raised its target to $315.
- April 13: Stifel kept Buy but trimmed its target to $294.
- April 8: Cantor Fitzgerald kept Overweight and raised its target to $260.
- Stance: Hold
- Confidence: Medium
- Why: Core setup is still strong across AWS, ads, Prime, logistics, and new satellite optionality.
- Main risks: expectations are higher now, AI and infrastructure capex can pressure free cash flow, and macro or regulatory pressure remains real.
- What would change my view: Move to Buy if April 30 results show clearer AWS acceleration, solid margin control, and confident guidance, or if the stock pulls back materially without a business-quality change.