Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Now Covered by Analysts at Citizens Jmp

Key Points

• Citizens JMP initiated coverage on Microsoft with an outperform rating and a $550 price target, implying about 22% upside from the prior close.
• Microsoft’s latest earnings beat expectations, posting $4.27 EPS versus $4.06 expected on $82.89 billion in revenue, with revenue up 18.3% year over year.
• Broader analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with 40 Buy ratings and an average target price of $560.64, even as some firms trimmed their targets slightly.

Stock analysts at Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) in a research report issued on Monday. The brokerage set an "outperform" rating and a $550.00 price target on the software giant's stock. Citizens Jmp's target price would indicate a potential upside of 22.16% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on MSFT. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft to $502.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Forty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $560.64.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $450.24 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.34 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Microsoft has a 1-year low of $356.28 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The company's fifty day moving average price is $402.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $434.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.46 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft will post 16.76 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised 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 valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is rolling out Copilot 365 to roughly 743,000 Accenture employees, highlighting one of the largest enterprise AI deployments so far and reinforcing demand for Microsoft’s AI tools. Microsoft is bringing out its Copilot 365 AI Assistant to Accenture plc (ACN) Employees
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft continues to be viewed as a top AI beneficiary, with multiple reports pointing to strong demand for Copilot, cloud services, and enterprise AI adoption. Microsoft Rallies as Bold AI Push Reignites Investor Hopes
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s involvement in Nvidia’s upcoming AI PC rollout is also lifting sentiment, since the partnership could help expand Windows device sales and deepen AI features across laptops. Nvidia jumps into PCs with new Arm-based chip debuting in laptops from Microsoft, Dell, HP
• Neutral Sentiment: Several broader tech articles continue to mention Microsoft as one of the market’s leading AI names, which supports the stock’s premium valuation but does not by itself change the fundamental story. Three AI Powerhouses to Monitor: Nvidia (NVDA), Microsoft (MSFT), and AMD Stock Analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary pieces on Microsoft’s valuation and ETF exposure reflect ongoing interest in the stock, but they are less likely to be direct near-term price drivers. Microsoft: This Price Makes No Sense

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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