Microsoft Corp. shares rose almost 6 percent in heavy trade on Wednesday on a rumor that the company would pre-announce that it expects to beat its fourth-quarter forecast, analysts said.
But the company declined to comment on the rumors circulating in the markets, saying it has not provided an update to its guidance since reporting results last quarter.
Analysts said they expected Microsoft to beat its own forecast but not to pre-announce that result. Microsoft has a history of reporting higher numbers than expected because its guidance is conservative, they said.
Microsoft shares closed at $55.54, up $2.97 on the Nasdaq, making it the third-largest net gainer for the day on Nasdaq.
About 68 million shares were traded on the exchange, more than twice the average volume over the past 30 days.
"I'm pretty comfortable they're doing better than the consensus forecast," said Robert Austrian of Banc of America Securities.
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