Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Price Target Lowered to $510.00 at UBS Group

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) had its price objective decreased by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $600.00 to $510.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the software giant’s stock. UBS Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 37.66% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also commented on MSFT. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $450.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $632.00 to $659.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $590.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $588.97.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded down $2.27 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $370.47. 13,731,587 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 35,896,676. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $415.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $470.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.75 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.16, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bofa reinstated coverage with a Buy and a $500 price target, arguing Azure and Copilot momentum could drive ~30% upside — supports a near?term catalyst for a rebound. BofA calls MSFT a buy at $500
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual call?option activity shows investors buying MSFT calls today, a short?term bullish indicator that can amplify upside if sentiment shifts. Barchart options activity
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft and Nvidia announced collaboration to apply AI to accelerate nuclear?power development — a strategic partnership that highlights new revenue and compute?demand pathways. MSFT & NVDA team up on nuclear energy
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and commentators continue to call MSFT oversold (RSI readings below 30) and argue the sell?off may present a buying opportunity if fundamentals hold. Oversold signals for MSFT
• Neutral Sentiment: Hiring of senior AI researchers for Suleyman’s team and other talent moves reinforce Microsoft’s long?term AI buildout, but these are multi?quarter catalysts. Microsoft hires AI researchers
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI’s investor filing flags heavy dependence on Microsoft for financing and compute as a key risk — intensifies investor worry that OpenAI disclosures could translate into execution or revenue risks for MSFT. OpenAI flags Microsoft dependence
• Negative Sentiment: MSFT shares recently hit new lows after a weaker outlook and investor concern about very large AI capital expenditures (estimates of $100–$120B) that could pressure margins and near?term free cash flow. Microsoft hits new low amid weak outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Environmental/regulatory risk: a Fast Company report says a West Virginia data center running on natural gas could boost Microsoft’s emissions substantially — potential reputational and permitting headwinds for future data?center builds. Data center emissions 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).