MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $328.38, but opened at $341.77. MicroStrategy shares last traded at $332.29, with a volume of 5,514,530 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MSTR shares. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on MicroStrategy from $173.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Maxim Group boosted their price target on shares of MicroStrategy from $193.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of MicroStrategy from $225.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of MicroStrategy from $245.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, BTIG Research increased their target price on MicroStrategy from $180.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $271.13.

MicroStrategy Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $204.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -161.67 and a beta of 3.05.

MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software maker reported ($1.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by ($1.44). The firm had revenue of $116.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $121.45 million. MicroStrategy had a negative return on equity of 17.31% and a negative net margin of 87.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($8.98) earnings per share.

Insider Buying and Selling at MicroStrategy

In other MicroStrategy news, CAO Jeanine Montgomery sold 752 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.45, for a total transaction of $242,482.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,069,484.10. This represents a 10.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phong Le sold 1,252 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.45, for a total value of $403,707.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,487,859.10. This represents a 8.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 134,954 shares of company stock worth $30,553,037 over the last ninety days. 13.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MicroStrategy

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSTR. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of MicroStrategy by 900.0% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 150 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC lifted its position in MicroStrategy by 2,900.0% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in MicroStrategy during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of MicroStrategy by 900.0% in the third quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 170 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MicroStrategy in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 72.03% of the company’s stock.

About MicroStrategy

MicroStrategy Incorporated provides artificial intelligence-powered enterprise analytics software and services in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and internationally. It offers MicroStrategy ONE, which provides non-technical users with the ability to directly access novel and actionable insights for decision-making; and MicroStrategy Cloud for Government service, which offers always-on threat monitoring that meets the rigorous technical and regulatory needs of governments and financial institutions.