Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Price Target Cut to $550.00 by Analysts at Scotiabank

Key Points

• Scotiabank cut its price target for Microsoft from $600 to $550 while maintaining a "sector outperform" rating, implying about a 29.6% upside from the prior close.
• Microsoft beat Q3 estimates with EPS of $4.27 (vs. $4.04) and revenue of $82.9B, underpinned by Azure/cloud and AI momentum.
• Despite the beat, the stock has slid amid concerns over a raised 2026 capex outlook (near $190B), one‑time charges and restructuring, though the MarketBeat consensus remains a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $562.05.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by research analysts at Scotiabank from $600.00 to $550.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "sector outperform" rating on the software giant's stock. Scotiabank's price objective points to a potential upside of 29.58% from the stock's previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Daiwa Securities Group decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $505.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $562.05.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of MSFT opened at $424.46 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $395.09 and its 200-day moving average is $448.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.15 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Microsoft has a 12 month low of $356.28 and a 12 month high of $555.45.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.04 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.30 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the business's 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 owned 137,933 shares in the company, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $347,211,391,000 after buying an additional 15,955,898 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Microsoft by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 306,150,608 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $148,060,557,000 after purchasing an additional 6,388,930 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,618,400 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $88,056,019,000 after purchasing an additional 1,911,142 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 121,220,561 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $58,624,690,000 after purchasing an additional 980,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $50,664,631,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results beat expectations: EPS $4.27 and $82.9B revenue, with Azure/cloud and AI momentum (AI revenue growth, Copilot adoption). This underpins Microsoft’s durable growth thesis. Microsoft Q3 Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street remains broadly bullish — multiple analysts reiterated Buy ratings and several raised price targets (examples include Wells Fargo, BofA, Mizuho, Piper). That supports longer-term upside despite near-term volatility. Analyst Lifts Microsoft Price Target to $625
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Satya Nadella framed a multi‑year shift to “agentic computing” and announced further multi‑billion AI investments — strategic for long‑term positioning but adds execution and ROI uncertainty near term. Agentic Computing Will Destroy Old Tech Stacks | Satya Nadella
• Neutral Sentiment: Share buybacks and amended OpenAI terms provide offsetting positives — recent buybacks (~$20B over 12 months) and Barclays calling the OpenAI amendment “favorable” (extended revenue rights) help support shareholder returns and expected AI revenue streams. Why Microsoft May Have Quietly Improved Its Position
• Negative Sentiment: Surging capex: Microsoft lifted its 2026 capex outlook toward ~$190B (data center buildout) — capex up sharply, free cash flow pressured. Large, sustained infrastructure spending is a near‑term profit/cash‑flow headwind that worried investors. Microsoft CFO Says Supply Chain Limits Can Be Managed As MSFT Lifts CapEx Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Weak investor reaction / stock slid after earnings — commentators point to the spending cadence (capex, AI investments) and one‑time charges as the reason for the pullback despite the beat. That explains today's downward pressure. Microsoft Stock Slides After Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI relationship reset / competitive access: OpenAI models are appearing on rival clouds (Amazon Bedrock) and UBS warns Microsoft ceded some ground — reduced exclusivity raises competitive risk for MSFT’s unique AI advantage. OpenAI Models on Amazon Bedrock
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term charges and workforce changes: Microsoft disclosed a ~$900M voluntary‑retirement charge and expects headcount to fall in coming quarters — short‑term costs and restructuring can pressure sentiment. Microsoft Puts a Price on Its Voluntary Retirement Program

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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