IBM shares gain for a third straight session on Tuesday, tech giant inks a $540 million managed services deal with Nordea

International Business Machines (IBM) said on Tuesday that it had inked a $540 million managed services deal with Nordea, which will enable Nordea Bank to outsource its IBM Z infrastructure services to IBM.

IBM shares closed higher for a third consecutive trading session in New York on Tuesday. The stock went up 1.42% ($1.68) to $119.83, after touching an intraday high at $120.54, or a price level not seen since December 14th ($121.11).

Shares of International Business Machines have risen 5.42% so far in 2019 compared with a 2.70% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2018, IBM’s stock went down 25.91%, thus, it underperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 6.24% loss.

As it outsources most of its IBM Z operations in five countries, Nordea will be granted continued access to the latest technology achievements, including cognitive services, IBM said.

“As we continue to grow our long-standing relationship with Nordea, we are looking forward to working with them to drive their digital progress with IBM Services,” Martin Jetter, senior vice president, IBM Global Technology Services, said in a statement.

“Our latest agreement will help Nordea accelerate its leadership as one of the largest financial services organizations in the Nordics and provide a solid path to bringing new efficiencies in their digital transformation,” Jetter added.

Under the agreement, a group of Nordea employees are expected to be transfered to IBM.

According to CNN Money, the 19 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding IBM’s stock price, have a median target of $150.00, with a high estimate of $200.00 and a low estimate of $125.00. The median estimate represents a 25.18% upside compared to the closing price of $119.83 on January 8th.

The same media also reported that 12 out of 23 surveyed investment analysts had rated IBM’s stock as “Hold”, while 6 – as “Buy”. On the other hand, 3 analysts had recommended selling the stock.

Weekly Pivot Levels

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for International Business Machines (IBM) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $115.50
R1 – $119.31
R2 – $121.30
R3 – $125.11
R4 – $128.92

S1 – $113.51
S2 – $109.70
S3 – $107.71
S4 – $105.72