The surge in COVID-19 cases has yet again deferred the return-to-office plans, pushing companies to continue with remote and hybrid working. Therefore, companies are investing heavily in their cloud infrastructure to keep operating efficiently.
According to Gartner, cloud spending will exceed 45% of all enterprise IT spending by 2026. Also, the global cloud computing market is expected to reach $211.4 billion by 2030, growing a CAGR of 19%.
Therefore, fundamentally strong cloud computing stocks Microsoft Corporation (MSFT), Oracle Corporation (ORCL), and Commvault Systems, Inc. (CVLT) could be ideal picks now. The recent price dips in these stocks offer attractive entry points.
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)
MSFT has a market capitalization of $2.37 trillion. The company is ranked 15 in the 2021 Fortune 500 ranking list. Also, in 2021 MSFT had been recognized as a leader in Forrester Wave for Content Platforms.
This month, MSFT India launched the latest Surface Pro X with Wi-Fi. This new model is affordable and the thinnest 13-inch Surface device, designed for Windows 11. Also, this model should provide more flexible options to its users.
MSFT's revenue increased 21.9% year-over-year to $45.32 billion in the fiscal first quarter ended September 30, 2021. The company's gross margin grew 21.1% from the year-ago value to $31.67 billion. Its operating income rose 27.5% from the prior-year quarter to $20.24 billion. Also, the company's net income increased 47.6% year-over-year to $20.51 billion.
Analysts expect MSFT's revenue for fiscal 2022 to be $197 billion, representing a 17.2% growth year-over-year. The company has an impressive earnings surprise history; it beat the consensus EPS estimates in each of the trailing four quarters. MSFT's EPS is estimated to grow 14.5% in fiscal 2021 and 14.4% in fiscal 2022. The stock has gained 44.8% over the past year and is currently trading 9.9% below its 52-week high of $349.67, which it hit on November 22, 2021.
MSFT's strong fundamentals are reflected in its POWR Ratings. The stock has an overall B rating, which equates to a Buy in our proprietary rating system. The POWR Ratings assess stocks by 118 different factors, each with its own weighting.
Also, the stock has a B grade for Sentiment, Stability, and Quality. We've also graded MSFT for Momentum, Value, and Growth. Click here to access all of MSFT's ratings. MSFT is ranked #15 of 167 stocks in the Software – Application industry.
Oracle Corporation (ORCL)
ORCL offers worldwide products and services that address enterprise information technology environments. The company's Oracle cloud software as a service includes Oracle Fusion cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP), Oracle Fusion cloud enterprise performance management, Oracle Fusion cloud supply chain and manufacturing management, and other services. Government agencies, educational institutions, and resellers are ORCL's primary users.
Last month, ORCL acquired Cerner Corporation, a provider of digital information systems, through an all-cash $28.3 billion in equity value. Through this acquisition, ORCL can expand its corporate mission, and both the companies should transform healthcare delivery by providing medical professionals with better information.
During the third quarter ended November 30, 2021, ORCL's total revenues increased 5.7% year-over-year to $10.36 billion. The company's revenue under the cloud services grew 6.2% from the year-ago value to $7.55 billion.
ORCL's revenue is expected to increase 4.6% year-over-year to $42.34 billion in the fiscal period 2022. In addition, the company has an impressive earnings surprise history; it beat the consensus EPS estimates in each of the trailing four quarters. Moreover, its EPS is expected to increase 3.2% in fiscal 2021 and 9.1% next year. Over the past year, the stock has soared 40.4% and is currently trading 20.2% below its 52-week high of $106.3, which it hit on December 10, 2021.
ORCL's POWR Ratings reflect this promising outlook. The stock has an overall B rating, which equates to a Buy in our proprietary rating system. Also, the stock has a B grade for Quality, Value, and Sentiment.
In addition to the POWR Rating grades I've just highlighted, one can see ORCL's ratings for Growth, Stability, and Momentum here. The stock is ranked #13 in the Software – Application industry.
Commvault Systems, Inc. (CVLT)
CVLT develops, markets, and sells a suite of software applications and services. The company's data platform helps reduce the business integrity gap and keeps data available for business growth. The company offers Commvault Backup and Recovery, Commvault Disaster Recovery, and Commvault Complete Data Protection.
In October, CVLT launched Metallic Security IQ, a unified security dashboard that provides customers meaningful insights. This feature should help its customers to identify threats impacting their data landscape and their data backup security posture in their Metallic cloud environments.
CVLT's total revenues increased 3.9% year-over-year to $177.84 million in the fiscal second quarter ended September 30, 2021. The company's gross margin grew 4.8% from the year-ago value to $151.27 million. Its interest income rose 16.1% from the prior-year quarter to $289 thousand. Also, the company's EPS came in at $0.04.
For fiscal 2022, CVLT's revenue is expected to be $753.27 million, representing a 4.1% year-over-year increase. The company has surpassed the consensus EPS in three of the trailing four quarters. Its EPS is expected to increase 10.4% in fiscal 2021 and 16.7% next year. The stock has surged 23.5% over the past year. It is currently trading 17.2% below its 52-week high of $84.22, which it hit on September 3, 2021.
It's no surprise that CVLT has an overall A rating, which equates to a Strong Buy in our POWR Rating system. Also, the stock has an A grade for Quality and a B grade for Growth.
Click here to see the additional POWR Ratings for CVLT (Sentiment, Stability, Value, and Momentum). CVLT is ranked #3 in the same industry.
MSFT shares were trading at $317.62 per share on Wednesday afternoon, up $2.64 (+0.84%). Year-to-date, MSFT has declined -5.56%, versus a -0.95% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.
About the Author: Priyanka Mandal
Priyanka is a passionate investment analyst and financial journalist. After earning a master's degree in economics, her interest in financial markets motivated her to begin her career in investment research.
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