Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Cut to "Neutral" at Griffin Securities

Key Points

• Griffin Securities downgraded Microsoft from “buy” to “neutral,” although overall analyst sentiment remains positive: 45 analysts rate the stock a Buy and five rate it a Hold, with a consensus price target of $608.59.
• Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, including $4.89 in EPS and $92.28 billion in revenue, with revenue up 18.8% year over year and Azure growth accelerating to 48%.
• Shares fell 0.9% to $526.47, while investors weighed substantial AI investment plans—including a potential $25 billion bond offering—against concerns about infrastructure delays, capital spending and slower near-term AI monetization.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Griffin Securities from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat reports.

MSFT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Microsoft from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. Evercore upgraded Microsoft from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Forty-five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $608.59.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $4.54 during trading on Thursday, reaching $526.47. 24,214,406 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 33,411,504. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $511.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $437.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.91 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $551.15.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.71 by $0.18. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The business had revenue of $92.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.13 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft will post 19.66 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Montgomery Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth $26,000. Frankly Finances LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Fiduciary Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 37.4% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft exceeded expectations with revenue of $92.28 billion and adjusted EPS of $4.89. Azure revenue growth accelerated to 48%, while Microsoft Cloud revenue increased 30%, supporting the view that AI investments are generating substantial demand. Microsoft Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates as Cloud Accelerates
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their Microsoft price targets, with TD Cowen, D.A. Davidson and Piper Sandler moving to $650, and other firms maintaining bullish ratings. Analysts cited Azure momentum, strong cash flow, Copilot adoption and Microsoft’s broad positioning across AI infrastructure and software. Microsoft Stock Has More Upside
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft generated approximately $18.6 billion in free cash flow during the quarter and reportedly earned $10 billion from commercial arrangements with OpenAI. That cash-generation advantage gives the company flexibility to fund its AI buildout and strengthens its competitive position relative to Alphabet. Microsoft recorded $10 billion in revenue from OpenAI
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is seeking at least $25 billion through its first major bond offering since 2017 to support AI infrastructure expansion. The financing highlights strong investment plans but also raises investor focus on leverage, capital discipline and returns on spending. Microsoft Seeks $25 Billion Bond Sale
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Microsoft’s lower-than-expected capital spending and a reduced 2026 capex outlook reflect delays from third-party AI chip and data-center providers. Capacity is now expected to become available mainly in the first half of 2027, potentially slowing near-term monetization. AI build-out hits snag
• Negative Sentiment: Additional pressure comes from reports of a global memory shortage hurting Windows PC sales and from concerns that Microsoft’s Edge browser remains vulnerable to basic logic bugs. These issues are smaller than the earnings story but add to broader worries about software demand and execution. The Memory Crunch Is Crushing Microsoft Windows PC Sales

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation NASDAQ: MSFT is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital platforms. Its products and services are used by consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

The company's principal offerings include the Windows operating system; Microsoft 365 productivity applications such as Word, Excel, Teams and Outlook; Azure cloud computing and infrastructure services; Dynamics business applications; and enterprise security solutions.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.