HSBC Cuts Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Price Target to $571.00

Key Points

• HSBC cut its price target on Microsoft from $593 to $571, which still implies about a 40% upside from the stock's current price.
• Analyst reactions are mixed—some firms raised targets while others trimmed them—but the consensus rating is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $556.15.
• Microsoft beat Q3 estimates (EPS $4.27 vs. $4.06; revenue $82.89B vs. $81.44B) and showed strong cloud/AI growth, yet shares dropped roughly 3.9% on investor concerns about ~ $190B in AI capex and near‑term free‑cash‑flow pressure.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by analysts at HSBC from $593.00 to $571.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. HSBC's price target indicates a potential upside of 40.03% from the stock's current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $545.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $575.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $575.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $556.15.

Microsoft Trading Down 3.9%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $407.78 on Thursday. Microsoft has a 52 week low of $356.28 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.39. The firm's fifty day moving average is $395.28 and its 200-day moving average is $448.37. The firm has a market cap of $3.03 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 39.34%.The business's revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.46 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on 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 owned 137,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. IRON Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 23.2% during the third quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 6,510 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,372,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225 shares during the period. PMG Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at $828,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 70,175 shares of the software giant's stock worth $36,347,000 after buying an additional 1,572 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% in the 3rd 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. Finally, Weaver Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 14.0% in the 3rd 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. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft reported a strong Q3: EPS beat and accelerating cloud/AI revenue (Azure ~40% growth; multi‑billion AI run‑rate), which validates MSFT’s monetization of AI demand and supports longer‑term revenue upside. Microsoft cloud growth tops expectations
• Positive Sentiment: The Pentagon reached agreements with leading AI firms including Microsoft — a strategic win that can increase Azure/government workload and adds credibility to MSFT’s enterprise AI positioning. Pentagon‑AI deals
• Positive Sentiment: Big hyperscaler AI spending (est. ~$700B for 2026) is a structural tailwind for cloud providers and data‑center suppliers — Microsoft stands to benefit via Azure and ecosystem services. Hyperscalers AI spending
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street reactions are mixed — several firms lifted price targets on better AI/Cloud metrics while others trimmed targets over capex concerns; that divergence increases short‑term volatility but keeps a consensus for material long‑term upside. Analyst price target moves
• Neutral Sentiment: High covered‑call ETF yields on MSFT (e.g., YieldMax’s offering) reflect elevated implied volatility and income strategies from option sellers — important for derivatives flow but not a direct signal on fundamentals. YieldMax covered‑call ETF
• Negative Sentiment: Investors focused on Microsoft’s huge AI capex (near‑term guide to ~ $190B) and a 49% jump in infrastructure spending — this pressures free cash flow and margins and was the primary reason the stock sold off after the earnings beat. CapEx concerns after earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: MSFT experienced a sharp post‑earnings pullback (large market value wiped out in a day), reflecting investor skepticism that the AI investment cadence will convert to near‑term free‑cash‑flow gains. Stock value wiped after earnings
• Negative Sentiment: The reset of the Microsoft–OpenAI relationship (end of exclusivity/amended deal) has created short‑term uncertainty about future economics and competitive exposure, which is contributing to cautious analyst commentary. OpenAI exclusivity ended

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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