Cantor Fitzgerald Lowers Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Price Target to $502.00

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald cut its Microsoft price target to $502 from $590 while keeping an overweight rating, a level that implies roughly a 19.2% upside from the prior close.
• Microsoft recently beat quarterly estimates with $4.14 EPS (vs. $3.86 expected) and $81.27B in revenue; the company has a market cap near $3.13 trillion and a P/E around 25.9.
• Analysts' average price target sits at $573.03 with a "Moderate Buy" consensus; shares were trading near $421 and the upcoming Q3 earnings (April 29) are the next major catalyst.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by equities research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald from $590.00 to $502.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the software giant's stock. Cantor Fitzgerald's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 19.20% from the stock's previous close.

MSFT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $500.00 target price for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $573.03.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of MSFT opened at $421.15 on Monday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $393.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $450.09. Microsoft has a twelve month low of $356.28 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.23 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant's stock worth $347,211,391,000 after purchasing an additional 15,955,898 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Microsoft by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 306,150,608 shares of the software giant's stock worth $148,060,557,000 after purchasing an additional 6,388,930 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,618,400 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $88,056,019,000 after acquiring an additional 1,911,142 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 121,220,561 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $58,624,690,000 after buying an additional 980,439 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,664,631,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Legendary investor Michael Burry disclosed a new MSFT position, signaling conviction from a notable value investor and supporting demand into the earnings period. Michael Burry just bought the Microsoft stock dip
• Positive Sentiment: UBS reiterated a “buy” rating on MSFT, providing sell-side endorsement that can underpin investor confidence ahead of results. UBS reiterates buy rating
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft announced an A$25 billion investment in Australia for AI, cloud, security and skills through 2029 — a large-capex commitment that supports long-term revenue and cloud expansion. Microsoft Announces A$25B Investment in Australia
• Positive Sentiment: Options flow ahead of Mag‑7 earnings shows bullish positioning (calls expensive vs puts), which can amplify upside if MSFT posts strong results. Bullish signals ahead of Mag-7 earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming Q3 earnings (April 29) are the single biggest near-term catalyst — results and guidance will likely dictate the next major move in MSFT. Microsoft Q3 earnings preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro headlines (Fed rate decision this week, renewed Iran tensions and rising oil) are creating broader market volatility that can overshadow company-specific news. 5 Things to Know Before the Stock Market Opens
• Neutral Sentiment: Product and ecosystem updates — Windows Update controls, Insider program changes, partner activity and channel wins — improve the product narrative but have incremental near-term revenue impact. Windows Update & Insider program coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Anthropic published findings describing ~2,000 AI flaws that ripple into the ecosystem; Microsoft and others are racing to respond — increased scrutiny and remediation could raise costs or slow product rollouts. Anthropic finds 2,000 AI flaws
• Negative Sentiment: Workforce reductions and buyouts across tech (including Microsoft) continue to draw headlines; while they may cut costs, they also raise near-term execution and morale questions. Why companies offer voluntary buyouts
• Negative Sentiment: Market skeptics are questioning April’s momentum rally; a broader pullback would likely pressure MSFT with other large-cap tech names. Record-setting momentum rally drawing doubters

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft's product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).

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