Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Given “Buy” Rating at Jefferies Financial Group

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a research note issued on Thursday,MarketScreener reports.

Several other research firms also recently commented on MSFT. Wolfe Research dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $625.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, January 5th. Arete Research lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $710.00 to $730.00 in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Redburn Partners set a $450.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $655.00 to $625.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $623.13.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $448.14 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.07. Microsoft has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $480.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $501.75.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The firm had revenue of $77.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Microsoft will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $26,703,959.04. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction 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 owned 461,597 shares in the company, valued at $239,402,668.08. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 54,100 shares of company stock worth $27,598,872. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 705,077,786 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $350,712,742,000 after buying an additional 13,691,572 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Microsoft by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 299,196,519 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $148,823,341,000 after acquiring an additional 3,166,275 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 179,001,751 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $88,714,256,000 after purchasing an additional 3,532,054 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $50,493,678,000. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 564,387.1% in the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 90,549,369 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $45,040,162,000 after buying an additional 90,533,328 shares during the period. 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: Large brand & technology deal with Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 — Microsoft will integrate Azure and AI tools with the team in a multi‑year sponsorship, a visible commercial showcase that supports enterprise AI positioning and marketing momentum. Mercedes reveal images of 2026 F1 car, announce Microsoft deal
• Positive Sentiment: U.S. defense contract: Microsoft won a $170.44M Air Force Cloud One task order for Azure services through Dec. 2028 — small relative to MSFT’s scale but a recurring win that validates Azure in government cloud. Microsoft (MSFT) Stock: Air Force Awards $170 Million Cloud One Contract
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street remains mixed but not uniformly negative: some firms trimmed targets yet kept Buy ratings (TD Cowen, Citigroup, Goldman maintained a high PT), leaving analyst coverage a mix of supportive and cautious views ahead of earnings. All Eyes on Microsoft Stock Ahead of Earnings Next Week; Here’s What Wall Street Expects
• Neutral Sentiment: Market is focused on the Jan. 28 earnings date — expectations are high for AI/cloud growth but the report is a near‑term catalyst that could increase volatility. Dear Microsoft Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for January 28
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades and lower price targets are hitting sentiment — some outlets and firms are flagging downside scenarios and trimming targets, which amplifies selling pressure amid already weaker tape. Microsoft Stock To $350?
• Negative Sentiment: Rothschild & Co Redburn cut its target and moved to Neutral — another explicit downgrade that can prompt short‑term outflows from model/quant strategies. Rothschild & Co Redburn adjusts price target on Microsoft to 450
• Negative Sentiment: Broader investor caution on AI spending and bubble talk: CEO comments and wider debate about energy costs, data‑center capacity and whether AI investment scales beyond Big Tech are weighing on confidence in further near‑term multiple expansion. Satya Nadella’s biggest AI bubble warning yet
• Negative Sentiment: Institutional moves and share supply: reports of a hedge fund trimming MSFT exposure and Microsoft (and partners) selling shares in PhonePe’s IPO add marginal selling pressure and headline noise. Cypress Funds LLC Cuts Microsoft Stake

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).