Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Given "Buy" Rating at Jefferies Financial Group

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed its Buy rating on Microsoft, and the sell‑side consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $556, implying meaningful upside from current levels.
• Microsoft beat expectations for the quarter—EPS $4.27 vs. $4.06 expected and revenue $82.89B vs. $81.44B—with revenue up 18.3% year‑over‑year and a strong net margin (~39%), highlighting robust fundamentals.
• Analysts flag near‑term risks including elevated AI/data‑center capex, hedge‑fund tech de‑risking and regional data‑center permitting/power constraints, which could weigh on margins and share performance despite positive analyst targets.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reaffirmed by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,MarketScreener reports.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on MSFT. Weiss Ratings cut Microsoft from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $525.00 price target (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $580.00 to $540.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $515.00 price objective (down from $630.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $556.00.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.2%

MSFT stock opened at $415.20 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.08 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10. The company's 50 day moving average is $395.28 and its 200 day moving average is $447.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Microsoft has a 1-year low of $356.28 and a 1-year high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft will post 16.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, 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 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. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the company'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 transaction, the director directly owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Avion Wealth grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 20.4% in the first quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 5,610 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,076,000 after acquiring an additional 951 shares during the last quarter. Persium Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 29.2% during the 1st quarter. Persium Advisors LLC now owns 3,212 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,189,000 after acquiring an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advisory Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% during the first quarter. Financial Advisory Partners LLC now owns 11,520 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $4,264,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Navigate Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the first quarter worth $1,686,000. Finally, LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 134.5% in the 1st quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 339,806 shares of the software giant's stock worth $125,786,000 after buying an additional 194,879 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts point to large upside after backlog surge — Several outlets note Microsoft’s commercial backlog nearly doubled, and Wall Street’s consensus price target (~$576) implies roughly 41% upside from current trading levels, giving bulls a clear valuation argument. Analysts See 41% Upside for Microsoft Stock After Nearly 100% Backlog Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Broker support: Stifel raised MSFT’s price target (keeps Hold) after Q3 results, signalling some analyst confidence in near-term fundamentals. Stifel Raises Microsoft (MSFT) Price Target, Keeps Hold Rating
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying — Funds including Manning & Napier and Yacktman reported increases to their Microsoft stakes, a vote of confidence from large investors. Manning & Napier Advisors Boosts Microsoft Stake
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst consensus sits at a “Moderate Buy” overall — supportive but not unanimous exuberance, so expectations are mixed. Microsoft Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy"
• Neutral Sentiment: Scotiabank issued an FY2027 earnings forecast update — more model refreshes are arriving from sell-side shops, keeping the story in flux as analysts re-run AI and OpenAI assumptions. FY2027 Earnings Forecast for Microsoft Issued By Scotiabank
• Negative Sentiment: Hedge funds are trimming tech exposure aggressively — a broad tech de-risking trade increases downside pressure on mega-cap names including Microsoft. Hedge Funds Launch Biggest Tech Stock Pullback In Over 10 Years
• Negative Sentiment: Capital spending/AI buildout concerns — commentators (including Jim Cramer) are flagging elevated data-center and AI infrastructure capex that could weigh on margins and near-term returns. Jim Cramer Points to Elevated Capital Spending as a Concern for Microsoft Investors
• Negative Sentiment: Critical takes on execution & AI strategy; some analysts and commentators label MSFT “a mess” given spending uncertainties and OpenAI-related modeling risk, which fosters short-term caution. Microsoft Is a Mess. Is the "Magnificent Seven" Stock a Buy in May or Better Avoided?
• Negative Sentiment: Data-center permitting/power constraints in regions like Denmark highlight potential bottlenecks for expansion, a relevant risk for cloud growth and capex timing. Denmark faces data center reckoning as power grid overwhelmed by surging demand

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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