Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Earns Buy Rating from Royal Bank Of Canada

Key Points

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Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reaffirmed by Royal Bank Of Canada in a report released on Monday,MarketScreener reports.

MSFT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Phillip Securities raised shares of Microsoft from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, March 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $392.00 price target (down from $540.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $650.00 to $600.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $566.71.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $424.82 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft has a 52 week low of $356.28 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $393.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $449.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.28. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The firm had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.23 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 287.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Legendary investor Michael Burry disclosed a new MSFT position, signaling a contrarian buy-the-dip view that can attract value-focused flows. Michael Burry Disagrees With the AI Narrative, Buys Microsoft Stock and 2 Unexpected Names
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture plans to roll out Microsoft 365 Copilot to ~743,000 employees — a large commercial win that supports Copilot monetization and Azure demand. Accenture to roll out Copilot to all 743,000 employees
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft announced a major A$25B investment in Australia for AI and cloud infrastructure — a long‑term revenue and capex commitment that underlines hyperscale expansion. Microsoft (MSFT) Announces A$25B Investment in Australia’s AI and Cloud Infrastructure
• Neutral Sentiment: Q3 earnings preview: consensus expects ~ $4.06–4.14 EPS and ~$81B revenue; Azure growth and Copilot monetization are the key near‑term catalysts that could re‑rate the stock either way. Microsoft (MSFT) Stock: Analyst Predictions Ahead of Q3 Earnings Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is offering voluntary buyouts (~reported ~7% of workforce option), a cost‑management step that lowers medium‑term expense risk but also signals pressure to reallocate spending toward AI. Tech Job Cuts: Microsoft Offers Voluntary Buyouts
• Neutral Sentiment: Service interruptions (Outlook sign‑in issues) drew headlines but are operational/temporary and unlikely to materially affect fundamentals. Microsoft Outlook outage coverage
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI partnership reworked: Microsoft’s exclusive license was ended and revenue‑sharing was curtailed/capped — removal of exclusivity lowers MSFT’s AI moat in investor eyes and sparked an immediate share weakness. Microsoft and OpenAI gut exclusive deal
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts cut price targets after the partnership change and amid capex/margin concerns (examples: BMO, Cantor Fitzgerald, Oppenheimer lowered PTs), increasing near‑term downside perception. Coverage of recent price‑target cuts
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and regulatory overhangs: the Musk v. Altman / OpenAI trial and a Slack antitrust suit over Teams bundling add litigation/regulatory risk to MSFT’s OpenAI exposure and product bundling businesses. Coverage of Musk‑Altman trial and Microsoft exposure

About Microsoft

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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