Citigroup Has Lowered Expectations for Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price

Key Points

• Citigroup cut its price target on Microsoft from $635 to $600 but kept a "buy" rating, a move that still implies roughly a 43.5% upside from the stock's previous close.
• Microsoft beat fiscal Q results (EPS $4.14 vs. $3.86 est.; revenue $81.27B vs. $80.28B) and is ramping AI capacity and partnerships (Fairwater data center online, deals with Accenture and Adobe), supporting longer-term growth even as analysts trim targets and flag competitive and regulatory risks.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by equities research analysts at Citigroup from $635.00 to $600.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the software giant's stock. Citigroup's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 43.52% from the stock's previous close.

MSFT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore dropped their price target on Microsoft from $640.00 to $580.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Benchmark started coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $450.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $576.66.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of MSFT opened at $418.07 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.10 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.15, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Microsoft has a 1-year low of $355.67 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The company has a 50-day moving average of $391.95 and a 200 day moving average of $452.88.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Microsoft will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. IRON Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 6,510 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,372,000 after buying an additional 1,225 shares during the period. PMG Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at $828,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 70,175 shares of the software giant's stock worth $36,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,572 shares in the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 14.0% during the third quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 18,340 shares of the software giant's stock worth $9,499,000 after acquiring an additional 2,247 shares during the period. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 1.0% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 949,901 shares of the software giant's stock worth $493,860,000 after acquiring an additional 9,700 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft brought its Fairwater AI data center online ahead of schedule, a flagship facility Nadella called “the world’s most powerful” — supports MSFT’s edge in AI infrastructure and capacity expansion. Satya Nadella Praises 'World's Most Powerful' AI Datacenter Going Live Early
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is partnering with Accenture on an “agentic factory” AI system and appears to be deepening enterprise AI partnerships — this should drive cloud/AI services demand and long-term ARR expansion. Accenture's New Agentic Factory System Debuts With Microsoft
• Positive Sentiment: Adobe expanded its AI ecosystem and signed integrations with Microsoft, Anthropic, OpenAI and Nvidia — a vote of confidence in MSFT’s platform relevance and partner momentum. Adobe (ADBE) Inks Partnership with Microsoft (MSFT), Anthropic, OpenAI, and Nvidia (NVDA)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and investors are focused on Microsoft’s April 29 fiscal Q3 report; Evercore reiterates Buy and frames the quarter as “survive and advance,” so near-term volatility may hinge on guidance. Here’s What Evercore Expects from Microsoft’s Q3 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/sector theme: massive corporate capex into AI data centers is boosting infrastructure spending but not hiring — positive for hyperscalers’ capex-driven revenue opportunities, though it raises scrutiny on margin mix. AI data center spending is booming. Jobs aren't. Here's why
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary highlights both downside pressure (YTD drawdown) and contrarian buy cases; Zacks and other outlets flag MSFT as a hyperscaler to watch for AI-quantum upside. Top 2 AI-Quantum Hyperscalers to Watch in April With 20%+ Price Upside
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s stock has underperformed the broader market today and this week as investors price in increased competition from new AI tools (e.g., Anthropic/Claude variants, xAI Grok plugins) that could pressure software volumes or product mix. Here's Why Microsoft (MSFT) Fell More Than Broader Market
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst target cuts and caution: TD Cowen and others have trimmed targets, and Bank of America reset forecasts ahead of earnings — sentiment and lower targets add near-term selling pressure. Bank of America resets Microsoft stock forecast ahead of earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/sovereign risk: reports that Switzerland is reconsidering reliance on Microsoft raised headlines about potential contract/market risks in Europe. “Reduce Its Dependency on Microsoft”: Microsoft Stock NASDAQ: MSFT Slips as Switzerland Reconsiders
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern about AI disruption to legacy products persists — several outlets debate whether new agentic AI offerings will cannibalize Microsoft’s traditional software revenue. Should You Sell Microsoft (MSFT) on AI Disruption Fears?

Microsoft Company Profile

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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