Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading 2.1% Higher – Should You Buy?

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s stock price shot up 2.1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $424.95 and last traded at $424.5390. 27,269,596 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 23% from the average session volume of 35,580,938 shares. The stock had previously closed at $415.75.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Michael Burry disclosed a new long position in MSFT, drawing attention from value/contrarian investors and supporting demand for the stock. Michael Burry Just Went Long on Microsoft
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive: firms including Jefferies, Guggenheim and TD Cowen have reiterated buy/overweight views and bullish models around Copilot and Azure monetization, supporting investor confidence. Accelerating Copilot Adoption and New Office 365 Bundles
• Positive Sentiment: Leaked details about a lower‑tier Xbox Game Pass Starter Edition lifted gaming sentiment and may help near‑term consumer engagement metrics for the Xbox business. Xbox Game Pass Starter Edition Details Leak
• Positive Sentiment: Macro/industry notes point to continuing cloud and AI compute demand (UBS expects strong Azure growth) and constrained GPU supply that favors hyperscalers — a structural tailwind for Azure and Microsoft’s cloud services. UBS has strong cloud growth expectations ahead of hyperscaler earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s first‑ever voluntary buyout program (targeting certain long‑tenure U.S. employees) signals management is prioritizing operating‑model flexibility; impact depends on uptake and how cost savings balance against AI capex. Microsoft Targets About 7% of Its U.S. Workers With Buyout Offer
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft announced a multibillion‑dollar AI infrastructure commitment in Australia (A$25B / ~$18B to 2029): constructive for long‑term capacity and market share but increases near‑term capex scrutiny. Microsoft expands AI footprint in Australia with $18 billion investment
• Negative Sentiment: Broader tech layoffs (Meta and others) and Microsoft’s workforce actions have raised headlines about an AI‑driven labor shakeup; negative sentiment can pressure multiple and create near‑term volatility. 20,000 job cuts at Meta, Microsoft raise concern that AI-driven labor crisis is here
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution and investor debate persist over AI ROI and near‑term margin pressure — some commentators call the buyout a “warning shot” ahead of earnings and a few firms have trimmed price targets. Microsoft: The Voluntary Buyout Is A Warning Shot Before Earnings

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on MSFT. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $575.34.

Microsoft Trading Up 2.1%

The company has a market capitalization of $3.15 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.55, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $393.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $451.84.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.23 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.76%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of Microsoft 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 in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $347,211,391,000 after acquiring an additional 15,955,898 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Microsoft by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 306,150,608 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $148,060,557,000 after acquiring an additional 6,388,930 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,618,400 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $88,056,019,000 after acquiring an additional 1,911,142 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 121,220,561 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $58,624,690,000 after buying an additional 980,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,664,631,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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).