Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a research report issued on Friday,MarketScreener reports.
Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on MSFT. HSBC cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $667.00 to $588.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Phillip Securities upgraded Microsoft from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, March 9th. Daiwa Securities Group reduced their price target on Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $575.34.
View Our Latest Analysis on Microsoft
Microsoft Price Performance
Shares of MSFT opened at $415.75 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.00, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.11. The company's 50-day moving average is $393.01 and its 200-day moving average is $451.84. Microsoft has a fifty-two week low of $356.28 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The company had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $80.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.23 EPS. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Microsoft will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.
Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft
In other news, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm's 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 in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.
Institutional Trading of Microsoft
Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. BLVD Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.6% during the third quarter. BLVD Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,169 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,641,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. now owns 6,509 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,371,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 700 shares of the software giant's stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.
Microsoft News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Large strategic AI investment in Australia signals long-term cloud/AI capacity growth and market share expansion. Read More.
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts maintain bullish views on Microsoft’s AI monetization (Copilot/Azure) with high price targets, supporting a multi-quarter growth narrative. Read More.
- Positive Sentiment: Partnerships to boost security posture by integrating Anthropic’s Mythos into Microsoft’s secure development lifecycle could reduce risk and strengthen enterprise positioning. Read More.
- Neutral Sentiment: Leadership change at LinkedIn (new CEO Daniel Shapero) is an internal management move that may aid execution but is not an immediate earnings driver. Read More.
- Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming fiscal Q3 earnings (April 29) remains the near-term catalyst; results and guidance will determine whether AI investments are translating to revenue and margin improvement. Read More.
- Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is offering voluntary buyouts (first time in company history) to roughly 7% of U.S. staff as it restructures around AI — investors view this as evidence of large near-term labor and restructuring costs tied to a major AI spending plan. Read More.
- Negative Sentiment: Market concern about Microsoft’s heavy AI spending (variously reported as large multi‑year commitments) and perceived dependence on OpenAI have prompted negative analyst takes calling MSFT a potential “value trap.” Read More.
- Negative Sentiment: Short-term selling pressure after the buyout and upgraded near-term spending estimates has already pressured the share price, with coverage noting a meaningful one‑day pullback tied to the move. Read More.
About Microsoft
(
Get Free Report)
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).
Further Reading
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