Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Phillip Securities

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) was upgraded by research analysts at Phillip Securities from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on MSFT. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $600.00 target price (down previously from $650.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. HSBC decreased their price target on Microsoft from $667.00 to $588.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $660.00 to $635.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $540.00 price target on shares of Microsoft and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $597.73.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.6%

MSFT opened at $423.37 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.14 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.48, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $474.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $499.00. Microsoft has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.23 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Microsoft will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total value of $6,266,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 129,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,577,620.48. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total transaction of $1,364,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 55,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,703,959.04. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter valued at $49,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain bullish — several firms continue to rate MSFT a buy with lofty price targets (median ~ $600), arguing the pullback may be an overreaction and offering upside from current levels. Robinhood’s Top 10 Stocks: These 2 Stocks Are the Best Buys, According to Wall Street
• Positive Sentiment: Product/technology push: Microsoft highlighted growing AI capabilities and a new in?house “Maia” chip for cloud AI workloads — a strategic asset for Azure and enterprise AI monetization. Microsoft Highlights Its Growing AI Capabilities with Maia Chip Launch
• Neutral Sentiment: Long?term bull case intact: multiple pieces argue MSFT remains a multi?year AI and cloud winner despite the sell?off, so the current weakness may offer a buy opportunity for long?term investors. 2 Monster Stocks to Hold for the Next 20 Years — Including Microsoft
• Negative Sentiment: Earnings reaction: Investors focused on slowing Azure growth and a guidance tone that implies moderation, plus record ~$37.5B AI capex, which triggered a large post?earnings sell?off. That combination explains heavy selling pressure. Microsoft Stock (MSFT) Opinions on Earnings Reaction
• Negative Sentiment: Capital spending vs. near?term returns: Reports note soaring capex and cloud revenue that missed expectations, spotlighting margin and free?cash?flow risk if growth doesn’t accelerate. Capital expenditures soar, cloud revenue falls short of expectations
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/market risk: Moves in Europe (e.g., France replacing Teams/Zoom) and warnings about a “kill?switch” or digital?sovereignty push raise the risk of lost public?sector business and greater fragmentation in cloud and collaboration markets. France ditches Zoom and Teams for homegrown system

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).