Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Price Target Lowered to $510.00 at Argus

Key Points

• Argus lowered Microsoft’s price target from $620 to $510 but kept a buy rating, implying about 32.7% upside from the prior close.
• Microsoft shares were little changed at $384.32, while the stock still carries a Moderate Buy consensus from analysts and a consensus target of $559.84.
• The company recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting $4.27 EPS on $82.89 billion in revenue, though insider selling and legal/class-action headlines remain a concern.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by equities research analysts at Argus from $620.00 to $510.00 in a research report issued on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the software giant's stock. Argus' price objective indicates a potential upside of 32.70% from the stock's previous close.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Forty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $559.84.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.0%

MSFT stock traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $384.32. 3,179,605 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 37,507,680. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.13. Microsoft has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The business has a 50 day moving average of $403.12 and a 200-day moving average of $414.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.46 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its stake in Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after acquiring an additional 60,009,531 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 1st quarter valued at $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 500.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant's stock worth $30,840,432,000 after acquiring an additional 49,618,571 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 49,640.3% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $14,905,904,000 after purchasing an additional 29,906,791 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Britain designated Microsoft and other major cloud providers as “critical third parties,” putting them under direct regulatory oversight. That could increase compliance requirements, but it also underscores how central Microsoft Azure has become to financial infrastructure. UK to regulate cloud service providers Microsoft, Google and others to protect financial stability
• Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI’s comments that GPT-5.6 is the preferred model for Microsoft Copilot suggest Microsoft still has access to strong third-party AI capabilities, but they also highlight ongoing uncertainty around Microsoft’s mix of in-house and partner models. OpenAI says GPT 5.6 is the ‘preferred model' for Microsoft Copilot amid breakup chatter
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s broader AI push remains intact, including a new $2.5 billion “Microsoft Frontier Company” unit aimed at helping customers adopt AI at scale, which supports the long-term growth case even as the stock has been weak. Microsoft (MSFT) Launches $2.5B “Microsoft Frontier Company” for AI Transformation
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft faces repeated investor-alert headlines about a securities-fraud class action, and several firms are urging shareholders to meet the August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. That keeps legal risk and potential reputational damage in focus. MSFT Investors Have Opportunity to Lead Microsoft Corporation Securities Fraud Lawsuit with the Schall Law Firm
• Negative Sentiment: News about Copilot functionality issues and reports that Microsoft is swapping some OpenAI/Anthropic tools for in-house AI reinforce concerns that some AI products may not be performing as smoothly as expected, which may be weighing on sentiment. Microsoft NASDAQ: MSFT Copilot Functionality Issues Trigger Securities Fraud Class Action
• Negative Sentiment: Articles on Microsoft’s emissions rising sharply during its AI/data-center buildout add another headwind, because they highlight the cost and sustainability tradeoffs of its aggressive AI spending. Microsoft emissions surge 27% as AI buildout crimps climate goals

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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