Outside perspective will help Microsoft

Article Excerpt

MICROSOFT CORP. $33 (Nasdaq symbol MSFT; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 8.3 billion; Market cap: $273.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.6; Dividend yield: 2.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www. microsoft.com) jumped 8% after it announced that Steve Ballmer, its chief executive officer since 2000, will soon retire. Microsoft expects to name a replacement within the next 12 months. The company continues to generate strong cash flows from its business products, such as server software, particularly as more companies move to a cloud computing model. However, weak sales of its new consumer devices, such as the Surface tablet computer, have held back its earnings. Investors feel a new CEO from outside the company may sell these struggling businesses. Microsoft is still a buy. buy…