Microsoft Looks Mighty

SAN FRANCISCO -- Now that Microsoft(MSFT Quote) has pulled a $1.2 billion rabbit out of its hat, the six-cent-a-share question is whether it can do it again, quarter after quarter.

Those are the numbers by which the Redmond, Wash., software company beat the Street's third-quarter revenue and earnings estimates Thursday.

Or as UBS analyst Heather Bellini put it in a research note Friday: "What's a $1 billion-plus of revenue and 6 cents of EPS upside among friends?" Bellini raised her 12-month price target on the stock Friday to $40 from $37. Microsoft is an investment banking client of UBS.

The stock was recently up $3.01, or 9.4%, to $35, almost assuredly on its way to a new 52-week closing high. ...