Tech giant Microsoft (MSFT) is no stranger to software vulnerabilities. Since it is no stranger to software in general, that makes it deeply connected to software vulnerabilities. It recently brought out a new patch to address one such issue in no less than Microsoft Office. The patch proved welcome to shareholders as well, and Microsoft shares jumped nearly 2.5% in Tuesday afternoon’s trading.
Claim 50% Off TipRanks Premium
- Unlock hedge fund-level data and powerful investing tools for smarter, sharper decisions
- Stay ahead of the market with the latest news and analysis and maximize your portfolio's potential
The flaw is connected to what reports called “…an over-reliance on untrusted inputs in a security decision in Microsoft Office that can allow an unauthorized attacker to bypass a security feature locally.” Using this flaw, reports noted, users can bypass object linking and embedding (OLE) mitigations, and use a malicious Office file to bypass security features once the file is opened.
Installing the update will provide the necessary protection against this security flaw. While those using Microsoft Office 2016 or 2019 will have to install the update manually, those using Office 2021 or beyond will have the protection installed automatically. However, those users will have to restart Office to get the necessary protection.
The Growing Concern Over Xbox Support
Meanwhile, on Microsoft’s gaming side, a problem is quietly starting to grow that has some concerned: games for the platform. Two games were quietly canceled for Xbox, as their publishers decided to focus on PC and Sony’s (SONY) PlayStation instead. Microsoft lost 1348 Ex Voto as well as the Nickelodeon Splat Pack.
Moreover, a recent look at Xbox Play Anywhere—a growing part of Microsoft’s gaming strategy—seems to be lacking several major games. A platform that has no games, or not enough games to draw users in, will ultimately falter. Just ask Nokia (NOK) about the N-Gage. While Microsoft has over a thousand games available as part of Xbox Play Anywhere, many are still not listed, and some of the games that are will not allow access to cloud saves, thus removing the “play anywhere” part.
Is Microsoft a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on MSFT stock based on 33 Buys and two Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 5.16% rally in its share price over the past year, the average MSFT price target of $618.85 per share implies 28.22% upside potential.
