Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Short Interest Up 32.5% in February

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 32.5% in February to 74,347,979 shares (about 1% of float) with a days‑to‑cover of 2.3 as of Feb. 27.
• Microsoft holds a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with a $591.95 price target after beating quarterly EPS ($4.14) and revenue ($81.27B, +16.7% YoY), and it announced a $0.91 quarterly dividend (0.9% yield).
• Near‑term catalysts include a $99/month AI tools bundle launching May 1 and expansion into healthcare AI, but concerns over large AI data‑center capex, a reported Authenticator vulnerability, leadership changes and rising demand for downside protection are weighing on the stock.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 74,347,979 shares, a growth of 32.5% from the February 12th total of 56,124,540 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 32,148,149 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 32,148,149 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $590.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and set a $641.00 price objective (down from $645.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $392.00 target price (down from $540.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $591.95.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT traded down $6.31 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $395.55. The stock had a trading volume of 26,797,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 32,619,302. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The company has a market capitalization of $2.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $427.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $476.03. Microsoft has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The firm had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.23 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Microsoft will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft has a near-term product catalyst: a $99/month AI tools bundle (includes Copilot capabilities) with a May 1 launch that could drive commercial adoption and recurring ARR growth. Microsoft Is Racing to Beat Claude Cowork. A Big Catalyst for MSFT Stock Is Coming May 1.
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is expanding into healthcare AI with Copilot Health (can read medical records and provide personalized insights) and partner integrations, opening a large vertical market and cross‑sell opportunities for Azure and Copilot. Microsoft launched a new healthcare chatbot
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft 365 E7 bundles Copilot, Anthropic’s Claude Cowork and security tools — a premium enterprise offering that can lift average revenue per user for large customers. Analysts continue to highlight AI-driven revenue upside. Microsoft’s New E7 AI Suite And Healthcare Push Shape Long-Term Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Xbox/product cycle news: Microsoft is advancing Project Helix (next‑gen Xbox) but prototypes won’t reach developers until 2027 — positive for long-term console moat but not an immediate revenue driver. Microsoft’s Next Xbox Moves Closer to Reality: What It Means for MSFT Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Gaming/graphics tech progress (DirectX/advanced shader delivery with NVIDIA/Intel) reduces frictions for PC gaming and helps Xbox/Windows gaming competitiveness but is a more gradual, longer-term tailwind. DirectX Gears Up For ML Era On Windows
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern about huge AI data‑center capex and public pushback over electricity/costs is weighing on the stock; large lease and buildouts boost growth but increase near‑term cash burn. Who is really footing the AI energy bill? Inside the debate about data center electricity costs
• Negative Sentiment: Security scare: reports of a new vulnerability in Microsoft Authenticator have spooked investors and triggered selling pressure tied to identity/security risk. New Vulnerability in Microsoft Authenticator Sends Microsoft Stock Sliding
• Negative Sentiment: Leadership change: Rajesh Jha, a long‑time head of experiences and devices (Office/Copilot products), announced retirement — creates short‑term execution/transition uncertainty. Microsoft's Rajesh Jha, head of experiences and devices unit, to retire
• Negative Sentiment: Options and flows show increased demand for downside protection (put-call skew steepening), reflecting trader caution after the pullback. Option traders moderately bearish in Microsoft with shareslittle changed

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).

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.