June 22, 2010, 10:53AM EST

Microsoft: Soleil Securities maintained a buy rating and $34 price target on shares of Microsoft (MSFT), the world's biggest software maker, on June 22.

"We believe that the PC demand environment is improving significantly, which positions Microsoft to have a very solid fiscal fourth quarter (ending June 30)," wrote equity analyst Neil Herman in a note. He said that recent comments from Acer, Dell (DELL), and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) support his view that PC demand trends are "quite healthy."

"Particularly with the release of Windows 7.0, Microsoft is helping drive this PC cycle and is positioned to be one of the biggest beneficiaries," Herman wrote.

The analyst estimates that Microsoft's Windows revenue will grow to $4.662 billion in the fourth quarter, from $4.415 billion in the third quarter and $3.108 billion in the year-earlier period.

By Businessweek.com and Bloomberg News Staff