Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Given New $675.00 Price Target at New Street Research

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) had its target price raised by research analysts at New Street Research from $670.00 to $675.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the software giant’s stock. New Street Research’s target price suggests a potential upside of 82.13% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on MSFT. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Daiwa Securities Group lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Microsoft from $630.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $588.97.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT stock traded up $0.44 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $370.61. The stock had a trading volume of 7,537,387 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,065,426. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $405.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $465.22. Microsoft has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.75 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released 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. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The company had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.23 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Microsoft will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 83,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Plans to invest $5.5 billion in Singapore through 2029 to build cloud and AI infrastructure — reinforces Azure capacity in APAC and supports long‑term enterprise demand for Microsoft’s cloud services. Microsoft Plans to Invest $5.5 Billion in Singapore by 2029
• Positive Sentiment: Commitment to invest >$1 billion in Thailand over two years for cloud and AI infrastructure — expands regional data‑center footprint and potential Azure revenue. Microsoft plans $1 billion investment in Thailand, Thai government says
• Positive Sentiment: Exclusive power‑supply agreement with Chevron and Engine No. 1 to explore large energy projects for data centers — helps secure long‑term energy for AI compute and mitigates a key operational risk for Azure expansion. Microsoft, Chevron and Engine No. 1 sign exclusive deal for power supply
• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark initiated coverage with a Buy and $450 price target — adds institutional support and a bullish analyst viewpoint amid the pullback. Analyst sets Microsoft stock price target
• Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI raised $122 billion at an $852 billion valuation — validates massive demand and capital flowing into AI, which could accelerate cloud spend (benefitting Azure) but also reshapes competitive dynamics in the AI stack. OpenAI Raises $122 Billion in Funding Round Valuing Company at $852 Billion
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft reshuffled its entire AI organization — management aligning AI assets could improve execution, but details will determine speed of monetization and margin impact. Microsoft Just Reshuffled Its Entire AI Organization. Should Investors Be Worried — or Excited?
• Negative Sentiment: U.K. competition authority launching an antitrust probe into Microsoft’s business‑software ecosystem and cloud licensing — regulatory action could lead to remedies, pricing/packaging changes or operational constraints in Europe. UK to launch antitrust probe into Microsoft’s business software
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction to a steep quarterly selloff and commentary that Microsoft just had its worst quarter since 2008 — investor worry centers on heavy AI‑related capex, margin pressure and uncertain adoption/monetization pace for Copilot and other AI products. Microsoft closes worst quarter on Wall Street since 2008 on AI concerns

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).