MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $406.00, but opened at $440.12. MicroStrategy shares last traded at $429.99, with a volume of 8,073,730 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MSTR shares. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of MicroStrategy from $290.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of MicroStrategy from $392.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Benchmark raised their target price on MicroStrategy from $450.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on MicroStrategy from $300.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on MicroStrategy from $275.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MicroStrategy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $479.25.

MicroStrategy Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $78.30 billion, a PE ratio of -189.12 and a beta of 3.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $272.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $190.29.

MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software maker reported ($1.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by ($1.44). The business had revenue of $116.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $121.45 million. MicroStrategy had a negative net margin of 87.05% and a negative return on equity of 17.31%. MicroStrategy's revenue was down 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($8.98) EPS.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Jeanine Montgomery sold 752 shares of MicroStrategy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.45, for a total value of $242,482.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,069,484.10. This trade represents a 10.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen X. Graham sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.36, for a total transaction of $9,027,200.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,145,979.20. This represents a 74.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 102,000 shares of company stock worth $32,259,177. Corporate insiders own 13.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MicroStrategy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of MicroStrategy by 36.4% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 30 shares of the software maker's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 8 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in MicroStrategy by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 50 shares of the software maker's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of MicroStrategy during the 2nd quarter worth about $106,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of MicroStrategy by 72.3% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 81 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of MicroStrategy in the second quarter valued at about $138,000. 72.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MicroStrategy Company Profile

MicroStrategy Incorporated provides artificial intelligence-powered enterprise analytics software and services in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and internationally. It offers MicroStrategy ONE, which provides non-technical users with the ability to directly access novel and actionable insights for decision-making; and MicroStrategy Cloud for Government service, which offers always-on threat monitoring that meets the rigorous technical and regulatory needs of governments and financial institutions.