Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Rating Upgraded by Phillip Securities

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

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on MSFT. HSBC cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $667.00 to $588.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. DZ Bank restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $650.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Microsoft from $630.00 to $615.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Two 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $597.73.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $423.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $474.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $499.00. Microsoft has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The firm has a market cap of $3.14 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter valued at about $49,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).