New York CNN –
Microsoft shares hit a record high Monday after the company said Sam Altman, former CEO of OpenAI, will join the company to lead its AI innovation leg.
Shares of the tech giant rose more than 2% to $378.81 on Monday, before retreating slightly. The stock will have to close the trading day above $376.17 to reach the all-time high.
Microsoft shares fell 1.7% on Friday, coinciding with Sam Altman ousted from his position to OpenAI in a boardroom coup. Microsoft is the AI company’s largest shareholder, with a $13 billion investment in the company.
Greg Brockman, who co-founded OpenAI and stepped down after Altman’s firing, will also join Microsoft.
Altman’s hiring ended days of speculation that the former CEO might return to the company following his dramatic firing. Emmett Shear, former CEO of Amazon-owned streaming service Twitch, will replace Mira Murati, OpenAI’s chief technology officer, as interim CEO.
Microsoft shares are up about 56% for the year. The stock is one of the “magnificent seven” that have accounted for the lion’s share of market returns this year, spurred by Wall Street’s bet that artificial intelligence is the next big thing in technology.
Dan Ives, a technology analyst at Wedbush Securities, reiterated his $425 price target for Microsoft shares following the hires of Altman and Brockman.
“We view Microsoft now as even stronger from an AI perspective with Altman and Brockman” at the company, Ives wrote in a note Monday.
