Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Earns “Outperform” Rating from Wedbush

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Wedbush in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $575.00 target price on the software giant’s stock. Wedbush’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 42.82% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on MSFT. Evercore reduced their price target on Microsoft from $580.00 to $510.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen raised shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Daiwa Securities Group cut their target price on Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Microsoft from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Thirty-nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $560.88.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT traded down $5.16 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $402.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,735,520 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,257,766. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $397.60 and a 200 day moving average of $443.14. Microsoft has a one year low of $356.28 and a one year high of $555.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.99 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.46 EPS. Analysts expect that Microsoft will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 83,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Marin Bay Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Marin Bay Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,913 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,299,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp raised its holdings in Microsoft by 18.3% in the first quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 2,860 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,058,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Cascade Wealth Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Microsoft by 2.6% in the first quarter. Cascade Wealth Advisors Inc now owns 7,858 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,909,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Phillip James Consulting Co. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 6.4% in the first quarter. Phillip James Consulting Co. now owns 1,143 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CacheTech Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 28.3% in the 1st quarter. CacheTech Inc. now owns 25,333 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,377,000 after purchasing an additional 5,592 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is still being viewed as a long-term AI winner, with several bullish articles pointing to durable cloud demand, strong fundamentals, and continued upside potential if AI monetization keeps improving.
• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI-related developments may be constructive for Microsoft: reports say OpenAI agreed to cap revenue-sharing payments to Microsoft at $38 billion through 2030, a move that could clarify economics and support OpenAI’s IPO path while preserving the partnership. OpenAI to cap Microsoft revenue-sharing at $38 billion, The Information reports
• Positive Sentiment: Satya Nadella’s testimony in the Musk v. OpenAI case reinforced Microsoft’s central role in AI and its early backing of OpenAI, which some investors may see as validating Microsoft’s strategic position in the AI ecosystem.
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple market commentary pieces discussed Microsoft as a core mega-cap name and highlighted options activity, valuation arguments, and broader AI trade positioning, but these were mostly opinion-driven and not company-specific catalysts.
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors are questioning whether Microsoft’s massive AI spending is pressuring cash flow too much, with articles warning that the AI boom is real but that capex and cash generation trade-offs could weigh on the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage of the OpenAI lawsuit also revived concerns that Microsoft has too much exposure to OpenAI’s governance and legal disputes, while several hedge funds reportedly trimmed MSFT stakes, adding to cautious sentiment. Microsoft AI Reliance Questioned As TCI Exits And OpenAI Terms Emerge
• Negative Sentiment: One report said Microsoft’s Kenyan data center project has been delayed due to payment demands, which could be seen as a reminder that infrastructure expansion is not always smooth. Microsoft’s Kenyan data center delayed on payment demands: report

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).