Microsoft shares close lower on Monday, EU antitrust regulators to rule on Microsoft’s acquisition of GitHub by October 19th

A deadline by October 19th has been set for EU antitrust regulators to rule on the $7.5 billion acquisition of coding website GitHub by Microsoft Corporation (MSFT).

A filing on the website of the European Commission revealed yesterday that Microsoft Corp had sought approval of the deal by EU regulatory authorities on September 14th.

Microsoft shares closed lower for the first time in the past six trading sessions on NASDAQ on Monday. It has also been the steepest daily loss since September 5th. The stock went down 1.08% ($1.23) to $112.14, after touching an intraday low at $111.88, or a price level not seen since September 12th ($110.51).

Shares of Microsoft Corporation have surged 31.10% so far in 2018 compared with an 8.05% gain for the underlying index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2017, Microsoft’s stock rose 37.66%, thus, it again outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 19.42% return.

According to Reuters, the acquisition of GitHub would be the largest one since 2016, when Microsoft Corp purchased LinkedIn in a deal valued at $26 billion.

GitHub, which is privately held, is the largest code host worldwide, as over 28 million developers utilize its platform.

The deal can be either cleared with or without concessions by EU antitrust regulators, or the latter could embark on a full-scale investigation in case serious concerns emerge.

According to CNN Money, the 33 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Microsoft’s stock price, have a median target of $123.00, with a high estimate of $135.00 and a low estimate of $75.00. The median estimate represents a 9.68% upside compared to the closing price of $112.14 on September 17th.

The same media also reported that 27 out of 34 surveyed investment analysts had rated Microsoft’s stock as “Buy”, while 4 – as “Hold”. On the other hand, 1 analyst had recommended selling the stock.

Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels

With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, today’s levels of importance for the Microsoft stock are presented as follows:

R1 – $112.30
R2 – $112.45
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $112.61
R4 (Long Breakout) – $113.08
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $113.62
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $113.84

S1 – $111.98
S2 – $111.83
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $111.67
S4 (Short Breakout) – $111.21
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $110.66
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $110.44

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $111.82
R1 – $115.28
R2 – $117.19
R3 – $120.65
R4 – $124.11

S1 – $109.91
S2 – $106.45
S3 – $104.54
S4 – $102.63