Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by equities researchers at Argus from $620.00 to $510.00 in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the software giant’s stock. Argus’ price target indicates a potential upside of 32.70% from the company’s previous close.
A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $540.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $502.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $515.00 target price (down from $630.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Forty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $559.84.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on MSFT
Microsoft Stock Performance
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The business had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Microsoft will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current year.
Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft
In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its position in Microsoft by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the second quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,658,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 410.4% during the third quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 2,138 shares during the period. Wealth Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 23,097 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,735,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Neutral Sentiment: Britain designated Microsoft and other major cloud providers as “critical third parties,” putting them under direct regulatory oversight. That could increase compliance requirements, but it also underscores how central Microsoft Azure has become to financial infrastructure. UK to regulate cloud service providers Microsoft, Google and others to protect financial stability
- Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI’s comments that GPT-5.6 is the preferred model for Microsoft Copilot suggest Microsoft still has access to strong third-party AI capabilities, but they also highlight ongoing uncertainty around Microsoft’s mix of in-house and partner models. OpenAI says GPT 5.6 is the ‘preferred model’ for Microsoft Copilot amid breakup chatter
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s broader AI push remains intact, including a new $2.5 billion “Microsoft Frontier Company” unit aimed at helping customers adopt AI at scale, which supports the long-term growth case even as the stock has been weak. Microsoft (MSFT) Launches $2.5B “Microsoft Frontier Company” for AI Transformation
- Negative Sentiment: Microsoft faces repeated investor-alert headlines about a securities-fraud class action, and several firms are urging shareholders to meet the August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. That keeps legal risk and potential reputational damage in focus. MSFT Investors Have Opportunity to Lead Microsoft Corporation Securities Fraud Lawsuit with the Schall Law Firm
- Negative Sentiment: News about Copilot functionality issues and reports that Microsoft is swapping some OpenAI/Anthropic tools for in-house AI reinforce concerns that some AI products may not be performing as smoothly as expected, which may be weighing on sentiment. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Copilot Functionality Issues Trigger Securities Fraud Class Action
- Negative Sentiment: Articles on Microsoft’s emissions rising sharply during its AI/data-center buildout add another headwind, because they highlight the cost and sustainability tradeoffs of its aggressive AI spending. Microsoft emissions surge 27% as AI buildout crimps climate goals
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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