Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Price Target Cut to $600.00 by Analysts at New Street Research

Key Points

• New Street Research cut its price target for Microsoft to $600 from $675 but kept a "buy" rating, implying roughly a 47% upside from the current share price.
• Microsoft posted strong Q3 results (EPS $4.27; revenue $82.89B) with robust cloud/AI growth, yet the stock fell as management flagged heavy AI-related capex (near-term guide ~$190B) that could pressure near-term free cash flow.
• Analyst reactions are mixed—some raised targets while others trimmed them; MarketBeat shows a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $556.15, contributing to short-term volatility.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by analysts at New Street Research from $675.00 to $600.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the software giant's stock. New Street Research's price target indicates a potential upside of 47.14% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. President Capital raised their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $580.00 to $510.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. HSBC reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $556.15.

Microsoft Stock Down 3.9%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $407.78 on Thursday. 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 has a 52 week low of $356.28 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.03 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.27, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a fifty day moving average of $395.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $448.37.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.46 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Microsoft will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the company'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 sale, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 287.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft reported a strong Q3: EPS beat and accelerating cloud/AI revenue (Azure ~40% growth; multi‑billion AI run‑rate), which validates MSFT’s monetization of AI demand and supports longer‑term revenue upside. Microsoft cloud growth tops expectations
• Positive Sentiment: The Pentagon reached agreements with leading AI firms including Microsoft — a strategic win that can increase Azure/government workload and adds credibility to MSFT’s enterprise AI positioning. Pentagon‑AI deals
• Positive Sentiment: Big hyperscaler AI spending (est. ~$700B for 2026) is a structural tailwind for cloud providers and data‑center suppliers — Microsoft stands to benefit via Azure and ecosystem services. Hyperscalers AI spending
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street reactions are mixed — several firms lifted price targets on better AI/Cloud metrics while others trimmed targets over capex concerns; that divergence increases short‑term volatility but keeps a consensus for material long‑term upside. Analyst price target moves
• Neutral Sentiment: High covered‑call ETF yields on MSFT (e.g., YieldMax’s offering) reflect elevated implied volatility and income strategies from option sellers — important for derivatives flow but not a direct signal on fundamentals. YieldMax covered‑call ETF
• Negative Sentiment: Investors focused on Microsoft’s huge AI capex (near‑term guide to ~ $190B) and a 49% jump in infrastructure spending — this pressures free cash flow and margins and was the primary reason the stock sold off after the earnings beat. CapEx concerns after earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: MSFT experienced a sharp post‑earnings pullback (large market value wiped out in a day), reflecting investor skepticism that the AI investment cadence will convert to near‑term free‑cash‑flow gains. Stock value wiped after earnings
• Negative Sentiment: The reset of the Microsoft–OpenAI relationship (end of exclusivity/amended deal) has created short‑term uncertainty about future economics and competitive exposure, which is contributing to cautious analyst commentary. OpenAI exclusivity ended

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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