Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Given New $580.00 Price Target at Evercore ISI

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) had its target price reduced by stock analysts at Evercore ISI from $640.00 to $580.00 in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the software giant’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 35.36% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on MSFT. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $640.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Microsoft from $640.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $601.00.

Microsoft Trading Down 11.0%

Shares of MSFT stock traded down $53.16 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $428.47. 26,402,321 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 26,422,932. The stock has a market cap of $3.18 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.07. Microsoft has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $477.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $500.68.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 32.45%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.23 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total transaction of $19,967,640.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 461,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $239,402,668.08. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total transaction of $6,266,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 129,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,577,620.48. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 54,100 shares of company stock worth $27,598,872 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 386.7% in the 2nd quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Beat on top and bottom lines — Microsoft delivered stronger-than-expected EPS and revenue, and Microsoft Cloud (Azure + related) topped $50B quarterly, validating demand for AI/cloud services. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI/contract backlog lifts future revenue visibility — Microsoft reported a large contracted backlog and meaningful direct OpenAI-related gains, increasing booked future revenue (RPO/backlog). This supports medium-term Azure growth expectations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic AI investments and product moves — New Maia 200 AI chip, multiple data-center approvals and AI co?innovation partnerships keep Microsoft positioned competitively in infrastructure and enterprise AI monetization. (Analysts at some shops reiterated/raised targets.) Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst reactions — Some firms trimmed near-term price targets or noted margin pressure, while others raised targets or kept Buy ratings; the net effect is divergent views that can widen intraday moves. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro and sector context — Tech peers (e.g., Meta) showed clearer near-term AI payoff in ad revenue, which accentuated the market’s comparison between AI spending vs. visible monetization. That relative performance is driving rotation within mega-cap tech. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Record capex and AI spending worried investors — Microsoft disclosed very large capital expenditures and data-center spending (reported >$37B capex), raising concerns that heavy near-term investment is outpacing visible revenue/margin improvement. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Slowing Azure growth vs. expectations — Azure/cloud growth decelerated vs. prior quarters (investors wanted acceleration given the spending surge), prompting sell-side and quant repricing and the after?hours pullback. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Market punished stock despite beat — Coverage and commentary (Forbes, Bloomberg, CNBC summaries) emphasize that investors now demand clearer, near-term proof that AI investments will translate into faster revenue and margin expansion; that skepticism drove the immediate selloff. Read More.

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).