This is in from barron's Tech Trader Daily and is most interesting.
Posted by Eric Savitz
Corporate IT decision makers want Microsoft’s (MSFT) new Windows 7 operating system.
And they want it now.
Pacific Crest analyst Brendan Barnicle writes this morning that a survey of 80 IT execs at companies with at least 1,000 employees find increasing demand for Windows 7. Of those surveyed, he reported, 50% plan to upgrade; that’s more than the 44% who answered in the affirmative in a comparable survey in January. Moreover, he notes that just 4% of respondents do not like Windows 7, compared to 12% previously.
He also notes that of those who expect to upgrade, 46% plan to start this year - and 55% plan to do a system-wide upgrade rather than simply adopting Windows 7 for new PC purchases. “Our expert panel and Microsoft contacts attribute the embrace of system-wide upgrades to the fact that hardware upgrades have occurred without software upgrades over the past few years,”: he writes. “Reactions to Vista were so poor that companies upgraded their hardware, but not their software.”
Even those who did not indicate immediate plans to upgrade were largely favorable in their views of Windows 7. Close to 34% indicated they like the new version of the software, but won’t upgrade right now due to economic reasons.
Barnicle contends that the strength of Windows 7 is still under-appreciated by investors “and represents one of the best potential drivers of upside Microsoft’s estimates in years.” He sees the potential for over 20 cents a share in EPS upside in FY 2010.
Barnicle maintains his Outperform rating and $28 price target.
MSFT today is off 46 cents, or 2.4%, to $18.37.
