International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

23 Apr 2026, 09:34 by Teresa Graham · The Cerbat Gem

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM – Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $225.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the technology company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential downside of 3.34% from the company’s previous close.

IBM has been the subject of several other research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on International Business Machines from $361.00 to $330.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $340.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group upgraded shares of International Business Machines from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, DZ Bank raised International Business Machines to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $298.19.

View Our Latest Report on International Business Machines

International Business Machines Price Performance

Shares of IBM opened at $232.79 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $218.36 billion, a PE ratio of 20.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $247.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $281.21. International Business Machines has a fifty-two week low of $220.72 and a fifty-two week high of $324.90.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.10. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.15% and a net margin of 15.69%.The business had revenue of $15.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.60 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that International Business Machines will post 12.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In other news, Director Michael Miebach purchased 434 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $233.33 per share, for a total transaction of $101,265.22. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,265.22. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David N. Farr acquired 1,000 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $304.00 per share, with a total value of $304,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,814,432. The trade was a 12.11% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have bought a total of 1,484 shares of company stock worth $417,157 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IBM. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the 4th quarter valued at $2,446,429,000. Capital World Investors lifted its position in International Business Machines by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 22,021,912 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,523,720,000 after purchasing an additional 4,976,756 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 83.4% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,617,117 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,663,847,000 after purchasing an additional 2,553,552 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 359.6% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,896,675 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $561,814,000 after purchasing an additional 1,484,026 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 97,216,131 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,796,390,000 after buying an additional 1,439,824 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting International Business Machines

Here are the key news stories impacting International Business Machines this week:

Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat on top and bottom lines — IBM posted $1.91 EPS vs. $1.81 expected and revenue of $15.92B, driven by double‑digit software and infrastructure growth. This confirms continued demand tied to AI and hybrid‑cloud services. Read More.
Positive Sentiment: Mainframe/infrastructure strength — IBM reported strong Z mainframe hardware growth (management cited ~51% growth) and robust infrastructure contribution, supporting recurring revenue and cash flow. Read More.
Positive Sentiment: Dividend lifted — IBM declared a quarterly dividend of $1.69 (ex‑dividend May 8), a small increase that supports the stock’s income profile and yield (about 2.7%).
Neutral Sentiment: Full disclosures available — The earnings call transcript and slide deck are posted for investors to drill into segment metrics and backlog/AI pipeline details. Use these to assess sustainability of AI‑related demand. Read More.
Negative Sentiment: After‑hours selloff — Shares fell notably in after‑hours trading as investors focused on the unchanged FY‑2026 guidance and signs of slowing Red Hat Enterprise Linux growth. That reaction pressured the stock into the next session. Read More.
Negative Sentiment: Software/consulting worries and AI disruption risk — Reports and analyst commentary flagged weaker-than-expected software revenue growth and consulting softness, reviving market fears that generative AI could disrupt legacy software monetization. Read More.
Negative Sentiment: Analyst reaction — Some firms trimmed targets (Jefferies lowered its IBM price target while keeping a Buy), signaling valuation caution despite the beat. Read More.

International Business Machines Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is a global technology and consulting company headquartered in Armonk, New York. Founded in 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) and renamed IBM in 1924, the company has evolved from early electromechanical machines to a diversified technology provider serving enterprises and governments worldwide. IBM is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol IBM.