Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Citizens Jmp Analyst Says

Key Points

• Citizens Jmp raised Microsoft’s price target from $550 to $625 and maintained a “market outperform” rating, implying 19.24% upside. Analysts overall remain bullish, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average target of $605.22.
• Microsoft reported quarterly adjusted earnings of $4.89 per share and revenue of $92.28 billion, exceeding estimates, while revenue grew 18.8% year over year. Azure revenue rose 48% to approximately $33.2 billion, underscoring strong cloud and AI demand.
• Shares traded down 1.3% to $524.15 despite the strong results. Insiders sold roughly $75.4 million worth of stock during the last quarter, while institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of Microsoft.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by stock analysts at Citizens Jmp from $550.00 to $625.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "market outperform" rating on the software giant's stock. Citizens Jmp's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 19.24% from the company's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. CLSA reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $640.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $440.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $600.00 price objective (up from $575.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday. Forty-five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $605.22.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ MSFT traded down $6.86 during trading on Thursday, hitting $524.15. The company had a trading volume of 18,563,412 shares, compared to its average volume of 33,375,805. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Microsoft has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $551.15. The company has a market cap of $3.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.10. The company's fifty day moving average is $511.18 and its 200-day moving average is $437.96.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. State Street Corp increased its stake in Microsoft by 2.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 315,653,206 shares of the software giant's stock worth $117,744,959,000 after acquiring an additional 8,944,917 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $27,338,370,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 64,375,360 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $24,013,297,000 after purchasing an additional 543,172 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $18,306,443,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 46,694,778 shares of the software giant's stock worth $17,418,076,000 after buying an additional 5,019,702 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft exceeded expectations with fiscal first-quarter revenue of $92.28 billion and adjusted EPS of $4.89, compared with estimates of $90.62 billion and $4.71. Revenue increased 18.8% year over year. Microsoft earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Azure growth accelerated 48% to approximately $33.2 billion, while Microsoft Cloud revenue rose 30% to $63.9 billion. The results suggest enterprise AI demand is converting into meaningful cloud revenue, helping the company outperform Alphabet in investor sentiment. Azure revenue growth
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their targets, including Cantor Fitzgerald to $630, Piper Sandler to $650 and Bank of America to $630, citing Azure momentum, AI adoption and Microsoft’s strong cash generation. Microsoft analyst price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft reportedly plans to raise at least $25 billion in bonds, its first major U.S. debt sale since 2017, to fund AI infrastructure. The financing underscores demand and investment capacity, but also increases scrutiny of returns and leverage as spending expands. Microsoft bond sale
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft reduced its 2026 capital-expenditure forecast to $170 billion from $175 billion after delays by third-party AI-chip providers pushed some capacity into the first half of 2027. The delay raises questions about near-term growth timing and contributed to weakness across AI infrastructure stocks. Microsoft AI capital expenditures
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI generated about $10 billion, or nearly 11%, of Microsoft’s quarterly revenue. While commercially significant, the concentration highlights customer and related-party exposure as Microsoft and OpenAI increasingly compete in some AI markets. Microsoft OpenAI revenue

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.

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