International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) stock rose more than 4% in Tuesday’s premarket trading after President Donald Trump praised the company during a White House quantum technology event and JPMorgan upgraded the stock to Overweight, boosting investor sentiment.
On Tuesday, JPMorgan upgraded IBM to Overweight from Neutral and raised its price forecast to $291 from $270, citing confidence in the company’s artificial intelligence and software strategy.
The stock outperformed a weak broader market, with Nasdaq futures falling 2.66% and S&P 500 futures down 1.30%.
IBM Joins OpenAI Cyber Program
Separately, IBM said Monday it joined OpenAI’s Daybreak Cyber Partner Program and launched a new AI-powered application security service to help enterprises detect and validate software vulnerabilities more quickly.
The managed service uses OpenAI’s cyber capabilities to analyze code, prioritize high-risk flaws, and identify exploitable paths beyond traditional code scanning.
IBM said the offering operates within customers’ environments through IBM Consulting Advantage and supports both targeted assessments and continuous monitoring.
The announcement builds on Project Lightwell, IBM’s $5 billion initiative with Red Hat to strengthen software supply chain security using frontier AI models.
Technical Picture Remains Mixed
Despite Tuesday’s premarket rally, IBM’s technical setup remains mixed.
The stock is trading about 5.2% above its 50-day simple moving average of $250.84 and 3.8% above its 100-day average of $254.22, suggesting the intermediate trend remains positive.
However, shares remain 4.8% below the 20-day moving average of $277.23 and 3.5% below the 200-day moving average of $273.49, indicating longer-term resistance remains intact.
Momentum indicators also warrant caution. The MACD remains below its signal line, suggesting bullish momentum has weakened. In addition, the 50-day moving average remains below the 200-day moving average following the death cross formed in March.
Key resistance stands near $310, while major support sits around $212.50.
Earnings Ahead
IBM is scheduled to report second-quarter earnings on July 22.
Wall Street expects earnings of $3.00 per share, up from $2.80 a year earlier, on revenue of $17.85 billion, compared with $16.98 billion in the prior-year quarter.
Analysts remain broadly constructive on the stock. Recent research includes a Buy rating from Citigroup with a $375 price forecast, an Overweight initiation from Barclays with a $350 price forecast, and an Outperform rating from Wedbush with a $320 price forecast.
IBM Stock Price Activity: IBM shares were up 4.33% at $263.15 during premarket trading on Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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