Mizuho Has Lowered Expectations for Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) Stock Price

Key Points

• Mizuho lowered its price target on Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) from $320 to $265 while keeping an “outperform” rating. The new target still implies upside, but it reflects a more cautious view from the analyst.
• Other analysts remain mostly bullish on the stock, with the broader consensus still at “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of about $318.29. Several firms have either issued buy ratings or raised their targets recently.
• Strategy’s latest earnings showed a sharp miss on EPS, reporting a much larger loss than expected even as revenue came in above estimates and rose 11.9% year over year. The company also has seen notable insider selling and heavy investor interest due to its Bitcoin-linked strategy.

Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by analysts at Mizuho from $320.00 to $265.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the software maker's stock. Mizuho's target price points to a potential upside of 66.57% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on MSTR. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $224.00 target price on Strategy and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Texas Capital raised Strategy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Strategy in a research note on Friday, February 6th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Strategy from $395.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Strategy in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Strategy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $318.29.

Strategy Price Performance

MSTR opened at $159.09 on Monday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $154.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $156.86. Strategy has a 12-month low of $104.17 and a 12-month high of $457.22. The company has a current ratio of 6.05, a quick ratio of 6.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market cap of $55.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.96 and a beta of 3.50.

Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The software maker reported ($38.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.86) by ($37.39). Strategy had a negative return on equity of 26.97% and a negative net margin of 2,482.01%.The firm had revenue of $124.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $120.75 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($16.49) EPS. Strategy's revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Strategy will post 116.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jarrod M. Patten sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.37, for a total transaction of $374,332.50. Following the sale, the director owned 28,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,658,360. This trade represents a 7.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew Kang sold 5,597 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total value of $927,870.66. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 33,675 shares in the company, valued at $5,582,641.50. This trade represents a 14.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 41,549 shares of company stock worth $6,510,803 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Strategy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MSTR. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Strategy by 16.1% in the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 313,565 shares of the software maker's stock worth $101,034,000 after acquiring an additional 43,509 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in shares of Strategy by 21.0% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 118,478 shares of the software maker's stock worth $38,175,000 after acquiring an additional 20,536 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Strategy by 46.1% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 204,506 shares of the software maker's stock worth $65,894,000 after acquiring an additional 64,482 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Strategy by 119.0% in the third quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 1,550,520 shares of the software maker's stock worth $499,593,000 after acquiring an additional 842,480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daviman Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Strategy in the fourth quarter worth about $1,013,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.84% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Strategy

Here are the key news stories impacting Strategy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Michael Saylor’s latest “working better” post and orange-dot Bitcoin chart have investors expecting a new BTC purchase announcement soon, which tends to lift MSTR because the stock is closely tied to Strategy’s Bitcoin accumulation strategy. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Strategy retired $1.5 billion of convertible debt without selling Bitcoin were seen as a sign of financial flexibility and reduced near-term leverage risk, which can be supportive for the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary also noted that Strategy may still have room to keep funding Bitcoin purchases, reinforcing the bull case that the company’s treasury model remains active. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles were broad crypto-treasury or market commentary pieces, including discussion of Bitcoin buy speculation and the company’s preferred-stock structure; these add context but do not appear to be direct new fundamental catalysts. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentators continued to warn that Strategy’s aggressive Bitcoin-financing model is risky and may be nearing a breaking point, which could weigh on sentiment if investors focus on capital pressure rather than upside from BTC exposure. Article Title

Strategy Company Profile

Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, Incorporated NASDAQ: MSTR is a global provider of enterprise analytics and mobility software. The company’s flagship platform offers business intelligence, data discovery, and advanced visualizations that enable organizations to analyze large volumes of data and deliver actionable insights. In addition to traditional on-premises deployments, Strategy provides a range of cloud-based services and managed offerings that allow customers to leverage the power of its analytics tools without managing complex infrastructure.

Founded in 1989 by Michael J.

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