Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Given Buy Rating at TD Cowen

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by equities research analysts at TD Cowen in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $540.00 price target on the software giant’s stock. TD Cowen’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 25.24% from the company’s previous close.

MSFT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. DZ Bank restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Microsoft from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Daiwa Securities Group reduced their target price on Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Dbs Bank lowered their price target on Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Forty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $561.20.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock traded up $3.82 on Thursday, reaching $431.16. The company had a trading volume of 7,086,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,656,773. The company’s fifty day moving average is $405.61 and its 200 day moving average is $432.76. The company has a market cap of $3.20 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.62, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. Microsoft has a 1 year low of $356.28 and a 1 year high of $555.45.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 29,083 shares of company stock valued at $12,710,152. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after purchasing an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth approximately $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 500.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $30,840,432,000 after purchasing an additional 49,618,571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 49,640.3% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,905,904,000 after purchasing an additional 29,906,791 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft used Build 2026 to unveil new in-house AI models, including MAI-Code-1 and MAI-Thinking-1, which could lower costs and reduce reliance on OpenAI and Anthropic. Article: Microsoft debuts in-house AI models, as it looks to ease reliance on OpenAI
• Positive Sentiment: The company also launched Microsoft Scout and other agentic AI tools, reinforcing its push to monetize AI across Microsoft 365 and developer workflows. Article: Microsoft launches Scout, an OpenClaw-inspired personal assistant
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft deepened its partnership with Nvidia on AI PCs and Azure infrastructure, a bullish signal for the Windows ecosystem and future AI demand. Article: Nvidia and Microsoft Roll Out Unified Stack for Agentic AI Across Windows and Azure
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s Majorana 2 quantum chip announcement added a long-term innovation catalyst, even if the commercial payoff is years away. Article: Microsoft reveals new quantum chip made with AI, says it will have systems by 2029
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary remains generally constructive, with multiple reports highlighting Azure upside and MSFT’s attractive long-term valuation case.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft Chief People Officer Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares, which can add near-term sentiment pressure even though the sale was relatively modest versus his remaining stake. Article: Microsoft CEO Sells $7,145,345.00 in Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors are worried Microsoft is spending heavily on AI infrastructure and development before those investments translate into clearer returns, which has contributed to the stock’s pullback.

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).