There are some weaknesses ahead for Microsoft, UBS said. Analyst Karl Keirstead downgraded the tech giant to neutral from buy, saying the latest round of checks into the business decreased the bank’s confidence in the stock. “We are downgrading our rating on Microsoft Shares to Neutral from Buy at the end of a weak round of field checks (see the link to the report here) on cloud providers including Azure, the view that the growth of Office seats is likely to moderate in 2023 and some Microsoft has felt fair, not cheap,” Keirstead wrote in a note Tuesday. At Azure, the analyst said the company’s growth engine is entering a “precipitous growth slowdown” that could be worse in 2023 and 2024 than investors expect. What’s more, analysts worry that the slowdown could be due to the maturity of the business, and not just the difficult economic background. Meanwhile, Office 365 – which has been “a very stable engine” for Microsoft – could slow down revenue growth in 2023, because the seat-based business could be hurt by increasing pressure on the labor market, according to analysts. Microsoft shares are down an estimated 29% in 2022, snapping a 10-year winning streak. While it fell sharply, Microsoft still outperformed the heavy Nasdaq Composite, which fell about 33%, as well as several other mega-cap tech stocks such as Amazon, which ended last year nearly 50% lower. “This year’s full performance and modest -4% correction since the difficult 1Q/Sept print appears to be a testament to Microsoft’s diversified and relatively sticky company-focused portfolio,” Keirstead wrote. “The ‘easy’ call is that the relative performance in 2022 will only repeat itself in 2023. We do not make a material negative call on the stock, but at 24.5x CY23E FCF, Microsoft shares already contain a ‘defensive premium’ and long consensus,” added Keirstead. The analyst’s $250 price target, down from $300, represents an upside of just 4% to Tuesday’s closing price for the stock. Microsoft shares fell about 2% in premarket trading Wednesday. — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.