HighTower Advisors LLC Raises Position in Strategy Inc $MSTR

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Strategy Inc. by 758.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 103,561 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 117,210 shares worth about $17.8 million.
• Institutional investors remain heavily involved in the stock, with firms like Vanguard, Capital International Investors, and State Street also increasing their positions. Overall, hedge funds and other institutions own 59.84% of Strategy’s shares.
• Strategy’s stock was down 3.0% as investors weighed mixed signals: analysts remain generally bullish, but concerns persist over insider selling, a recent downgrade from Zacks, and reports that the company may pause Bitcoin buying or even sell some BTC.

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Strategy Inc (NASDAQ:MSTR - Free Report) by 758.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 117,210 shares of the software maker's stock after purchasing an additional 103,561 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Strategy were worth $17,810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Strategy by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,062,886 shares of the software maker's stock worth $3,656,356,000 after purchasing an additional 4,178,611 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Strategy by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,014,295 shares of the software maker's stock worth $4,837,778,000 after purchasing an additional 383,207 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Strategy by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,989,048 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,929,731,000 after purchasing an additional 504,479 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Strategy by 33.6% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,205,258 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,354,982,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057,804 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Strategy by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,593,085 shares of the software maker's stock worth $513,308,000 after purchasing an additional 194,987 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.84% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Strategy

Here are the key news stories impacting Strategy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen reiterated a Buy rating and lifted its price target on Strategy, citing continued Bitcoin accumulation and potential upside from the company’s BTC-focused model.
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Strategy continued buying Bitcoin with capital raised from securities sales reinforce the core bull case that BTC holdings remain the main value driver for MSTR.
• Neutral Sentiment: Michael Saylor’s CNBC comments on tokenization and Strategy’s evolving capital-markets approach support the long-term Bitcoin thesis, but do not create an immediate operating catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern has increased after reports that Strategy may pause Bitcoin buying and could even sell some BTC to support capital-management moves or debt repurchases.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded Strategy to Strong Sell, adding to bearish sentiment around the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: New insider selling, including CFO Andrew Kang’s stock sale and director Jarrod M. Patten’s disposals, is weighing on confidence in the shares.

Strategy Stock Down 3.0%

MSTR opened at $159.89 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $152.77 and a 200 day moving average of $160.66. The company has a market cap of $56.03 billion, a PE ratio of -3.98 and a beta of 3.59. Strategy Inc has a 12 month low of $104.17 and a 12 month high of $457.22. The company has a current ratio of 6.05, a quick ratio of 6.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The software maker reported ($38.25) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.86) by ($37.39). The business had revenue of $124.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $120.75 million. Strategy had a negative return on equity of 26.97% and a negative net margin of 2,482.01%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted ($16.49) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Strategy Inc will post 116.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew Kang sold 5,597 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total value of $927,870.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 33,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,582,641.50. This trade represents a 14.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Phong Le sold 3,299 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.33, for a total transaction of $456,350.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 22,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,170,938.59. This trade represents a 12.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,549 shares of company stock valued at $6,510,803. Company insiders own 6.49% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MSTR. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Strategy in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $224.00 price target on shares of Strategy and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Strategy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Texas Capital upgraded shares of Strategy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating on shares of Strategy in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $322.21.

About Strategy

Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, Incorporated NASDAQ: MSTR is a global provider of enterprise analytics and mobility software. The company’s flagship platform offers business intelligence, data discovery, and advanced visualizations that enable organizations to analyze large volumes of data and deliver actionable insights. In addition to traditional on-premises deployments, Strategy provides a range of cloud-based services and managed offerings that allow customers to leverage the power of its analytics tools without managing complex infrastructure.

Founded in 1989 by Michael J.

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.