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

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

Microsoft News Summary

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Daiwa Securities Group lowered their target price on Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Benchmark initiated coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating and set a $392.00 target price (down from $540.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Microsoft from $600.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Wedbush lowered their target price on Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $575.34.

Microsoft Stock Performance

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

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.28. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The business had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the business’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 value of $5,045,695.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired 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 approximately $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. IRON Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 6,510 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,372,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225 shares in the last quarter. PMG Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at about $828,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 70,175 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,572 shares in the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 18,340 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,499,000 after acquiring an additional 2,247 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 949,901 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $493,860,000 after acquiring an additional 9,700 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).