TD Cowen Reiterates “Buy” Rating for Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by analysts at TD Cowen in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $540.00 price objective on the software giant’s stock. TD Cowen’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 16.20% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on MSFT. Raymond James Financial lowered Microsoft from a “market perform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $640.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. China Renaissance lowered their target price on Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $558.64.

Microsoft Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $464.72 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $397.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $405.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Microsoft has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft will post 19.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,122,009.12. This trade represents a 8.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at $50,928,792.23. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Taylor Securities Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $2,616,000. Markel Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $199,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,950 shares during the last quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,041,000 after acquiring an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 272,424 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $131,750,000 after acquiring an additional 49,371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its position in Microsoft by 138.8% during the 1st quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,356,359 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $502,077,000 after acquiring an additional 788,297 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: Azure growth exceeded expectations. Azure revenue increased 43% year over year, and annual Azure sales surpassed $100 billion for the first time. Management also guided to approximately 45% Azure growth in the next quarter, reinforcing confidence in Microsoft’s cloud and enterprise AI demand. Microsoft Shares Jump After Strong Outlook and Solid AI-Driven Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The earnings beat was substantial. Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion and adjusted EPS of $4.74, above analyst estimates of $87.62 billion and $4.24, respectively. Net income reportedly rose 31%, while revenue increased about 18% year over year. Microsoft Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates as Cloud and AI Drive Results
• Positive Sentiment: AI monetization and financial discipline eased investor concerns. Microsoft 365 Copilot surpassed 30 million paid seats, its commercial remaining performance obligation reached $678 billion—up 84% year over year—and management held its capital-expenditure outlook broadly steady while emphasizing continued cash generation. Investors viewed this as a better balance between infrastructure investment and returns than some peers have demonstrated. Microsoft Eases AI Spending Concerns
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts largely reaffirmed bullish views, with several price-target increases, although estimates remain wide. Microsoft’s stock is now trading well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages after a historic rally, raising the possibility of increased volatility or profit-taking.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft continues to face risks from data-center power constraints, chip costs, regulatory scrutiny and the enormous scale of AI investment. A reported cloud-security flaw that could have exposed customers adds another operational concern. Cyber Firm Wiz Reports Microsoft Cloud Flaw
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms publicized a securities class-action lawsuit concerning investors who purchased Microsoft shares between May 1, 2025, and January 28, 2026, with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. Such announcements may create reputational and legal overhang, although they have not offset the earnings-driven optimism. Microsoft Securities Class Action Deadline

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).