Raymond James Financial Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price

Key Points

• Raymond James trimmed its Microsoft price target to $540 (from $580) but kept an "outperform" rating, implying about a 27% upside, while the analyst consensus remains a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $566.71.
• Microsoft reported a solid quarter—$4.14 EPS vs. $3.86 expected and $81.27B revenue, up 16.7% year‑over‑year—even as the stock trades around $425, below many revised analyst targets.
• OpenAI partnership changes, recent analyst price‑target cuts and legal/regulatory overhangs have increased near‑term downside risk and pressured sentiment despite fundamental strength.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by stock analysts at Raymond James Financial from $580.00 to $540.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the software giant's stock. Raymond James Financial's price objective points to a potential upside of 27.11% from the stock's current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $650.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $610.00 to $540.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "hold" rating and issued a $392.00 target price (down from $540.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research decreased their price target on Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $566.71.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $424.82 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $393.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $449.40. Microsoft has a twelve month low of $356.28 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market capitalization of $3.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.57, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. Microsoft's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.23 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its position 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 worth $29,073,486,000 after acquiring an additional 60,009,531 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth approximately $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 500.0% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 49,618,571 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 49,640.3% in 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 last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Legendary investor Michael Burry disclosed a new MSFT position, signaling a contrarian buy-the-dip view that can attract value-focused flows. Michael Burry Disagrees With the AI Narrative, Buys Microsoft Stock and 2 Unexpected Names
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture plans to roll out Microsoft 365 Copilot to ~743,000 employees — a large commercial win that supports Copilot monetization and Azure demand. Accenture to roll out Copilot to all 743,000 employees
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft announced a major A$25B investment in Australia for AI and cloud infrastructure — a long‑term revenue and capex commitment that underlines hyperscale expansion. Microsoft (MSFT) Announces A$25B Investment in Australia’s AI and Cloud Infrastructure
• Neutral Sentiment: Q3 earnings preview: consensus expects ~ $4.06–4.14 EPS and ~$81B revenue; Azure growth and Copilot monetization are the key near‑term catalysts that could re‑rate the stock either way. Microsoft (MSFT) Stock: Analyst Predictions Ahead of Q3 Earnings Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is offering voluntary buyouts (~reported ~7% of workforce option), a cost‑management step that lowers medium‑term expense risk but also signals pressure to reallocate spending toward AI. Tech Job Cuts: Microsoft Offers Voluntary Buyouts
• Neutral Sentiment: Service interruptions (Outlook sign‑in issues) drew headlines but are operational/temporary and unlikely to materially affect fundamentals. Microsoft Outlook outage coverage
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI partnership reworked: Microsoft’s exclusive license was ended and revenue‑sharing was curtailed/capped — removal of exclusivity lowers MSFT’s AI moat in investor eyes and sparked an immediate share weakness. Microsoft and OpenAI gut exclusive deal
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts cut price targets after the partnership change and amid capex/margin concerns (examples: BMO, Cantor Fitzgerald, Oppenheimer lowered PTs), increasing near‑term downside perception. Coverage of recent price‑target cuts
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and regulatory overhangs: the Musk v. Altman / OpenAI trial and a Slack antitrust suit over Teams bundling add litigation/regulatory risk to MSFT’s OpenAI exposure and product bundling businesses. Coverage of Musk‑Altman trial and Microsoft exposure

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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