Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, BNP Paribas Exane Analyst Says

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Exane has increased its price target for Microsoft stock from $630.00 to $632.00, indicating a potential upside of 23.29%.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $4.13, surpassing expectations of $3.65, with revenue hitting $77.67 billion.
• Currently, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Buy" from analysts, with a consensus target price of $634.59.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by stock analysts at BNP Paribas Exane from $630.00 to $632.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the software giant's stock. BNP Paribas Exane's price target would suggest a potential upside of 23.29% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on MSFT. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $640.00 target price on Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho set a $640.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $675.00 target price on Microsoft and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $634.59.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $512.61 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $514.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $490.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. Microsoft has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $77.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $75.49 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. Microsoft has set its Q2 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total value of $19,967,640.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 461,597 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $239,402,668.08. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total transaction of $75,315,699.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 790,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $399,206,272.56. This trade represents a 15.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 192,555 shares of company stock valued at $97,840,842 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 1.4% during the first quarter. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 6,650 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,496,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Real Talk Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.6% during the first quarter. Real Talk Capital LLC now owns 2,290 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $860,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 922,524 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $457,119,000 after buying an additional 33,382 shares during the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 39.3% in the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 144,852 shares of the software giant's stock worth $54,376,000 after purchasing an additional 40,860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Well Done LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Well Done LLC now owns 9,911 shares of the software giant's stock worth $4,930,000 after acquiring an additional 814 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.

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