Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Phillip Securities

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

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on MSFT. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $655.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $600.00 price objective (down previously from $610.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $650.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $597.73.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $423.37 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market cap of $3.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $474.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $499.00. Microsoft has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total value of $1,364,352.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,703,959.04. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $63,577,620.48. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 5.9% during the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 342 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $170,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. BLVD Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.6% in the third quarter. BLVD Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,169 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,641,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Level Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Level Financial Advisors now owns 2,680 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,333,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Red Mountain Financial LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Red Mountain Financial LLC now owns 2,761 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,373,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Onyx Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% in the second quarter. Onyx Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,108 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,536,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

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

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).