Microsoft Corp. closed $33.08 below its 52-week high ($468.35), which the company reached on July 5th.

Microsoft (MSFT) has recently been on Zacks.com's list of the most searched stocks. Therefore, you might want to consider some of the key factors that could influence the stock's performance in the near future.

According to the average brokerage recommendation (ABR), one should invest in Microsoft (MSFT). It is debatable whether this highly sought-after metric is effective because Wall Street analysts' recommendations tend to be overly optimistic.