TD Cowen Has Lowered Expectations for Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price

Key Points

• TD Cowen cut its Microsoft price target from $610 to $540 but kept a "buy" rating, implying roughly a 31.32% upside from the current price.
• Across analysts the average target is $577.58 with a consensus of "Moderate Buy" (2 Strong Buy, 38 Buy, 5 Hold), and Microsoft recently beat quarterly estimates—EPS $4.14 vs. $3.86 and revenue $81.27B, up 16.7% year‑over‑year—while holding a $3.05 trillion market cap.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by investment analysts at TD Cowen from $610.00 to $540.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the software giant's stock. TD Cowen's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 31.32% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on MSFT. New Street Research raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $670.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $590.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. DZ Bank restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wolfe Research lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $515.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $577.58.

Microsoft Stock Up 4.6%

MSFT stock opened at $411.22 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Microsoft has a twelve month low of $355.67 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The company's 50 day moving average is $390.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $455.36. The stock has a market cap of $3.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.72, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The company had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $80.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.23 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Microsoft will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. IRON Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 6,510 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,372,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225 shares during the period. PMG Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $828,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 70,175 shares of the software giant's stock worth $36,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,572 shares during the period. Weaver Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 18,340 shares of the software giant's stock worth $9,499,000 after acquiring an additional 2,247 shares during the period. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 949,901 shares of the software giant's stock worth $493,860,000 after acquiring an additional 9,700 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft picked up Norway data‑center capacity that OpenAI abandoned, adding tens of thousands of GPUs and boosting AI infrastructure scale and near‑term growth visibility. OpenAI pulls back from Stargate Norway data center deal as Microsoft takes over
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft announced expansion of its physical footprint — a new 3,200‑acre Wyoming campus and other data‑center moves — supporting long‑term cloud and AI capacity needs that underpin Azure growth. Microsoft’s Data Center Push Continues with New 3,200 Acre Wyoming Campus
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic partnerships show corporate demand for Microsoft’s platform — e.g., a five‑year AI/cybersecurity collaboration with Stellantis and a Postman integration to broaden AI model choices for developers, both signaling enterprise traction for Azure and developer tools. Stellantis, Microsoft sign five-year partnership for AI push Postman Announces Collaboration with Microsoft
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators are turning more constructive on MSFT’s AI/cloud runway — several outlets note a strong multi‑day rally and buy/maintain ratings (TD Cowen, Bernstein commentary), which supports investor sentiment. Microsoft: Long-Term AI and Cloud Tailwinds Justify Higher Target Microsoft's stock has sprung back to life
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary and comparisons (Oracle, IonQ, quantum/AI lists) keep Microsoft in investor conversations but don't change fundamentals immediately — useful for positioning, not an immediate catalyst. Microsoft vs. Oracle: Which Beaten-Down Tech Giant Is the Better Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually large options volume and coverage pieces signal heightened trader interest and volatility — could amplify moves in either direction but is not a direct fundamental change. Microsoft Sees Unusually Large Options Volume
• Negative Sentiment: Competition from new frontier models (Anthropic/Claude and others) is being flagged as a threat to Copilot adoption and enterprise positioning, raising execution risk for Microsoft’s AI product monetization. Microsoft: Claude Just Threatened Copilot Adoption
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern about MSFT’s heavy AI capex and capital allocation persists — analysts debate whether massive data‑center investment will deliver commensurate returns soon, pressuring sentiment. Microsoft's AI Data Center Push: Growth Engine or Capex Trap?
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s retreat from its carbon‑removal commitments (NYT coverage) creates reputational/ESG questions that could matter to sustainability‑focused investors and long‑term sentiment. Carbon Removal Industry Reels as Microsoft Retreats

Microsoft Company Profile

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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