Stifel (SF) analyst Brad Reback raised the firm's price target on Microsoft (MSFT) to $215 from $200, and keeps a "Buy" rating on the shares ahead of the company's fiscal Q4 results on July 22. The stock closed Friday, July 17, down $1.04, to $202.88.

Microsoft's various properties, namely Azure, Office365, and gaming, are short- and long-term beneficiaries from the pandemic, Reback tells investors in a research note. However, the analyst adds Microsoft may offer "conservative" fiscal 2021 guidance, below his 11% year-over-year forecast, given the "rapidly evolving economic situation."

Nonetheless, as the COVID dust settles in coming quarters, organizations of all sizes will likely sustain accelerated cloud migration strategies, and Microsoft should be a key beneficiary, says Reback. The analyst remains a buyer of the shares.