Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Receives “Buy” Rating from Jefferies Financial Group

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a research note issued on Monday,MarketScreener reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. DZ Bank reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Microsoft from $615.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $556.00.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $415.20 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.08 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $395.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $447.45. Microsoft has a 1-year low of $356.28 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The business had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.46 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft will post 16.68 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avion Wealth increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 20.4% during the first quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 5,610 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,076,000 after acquiring an additional 951 shares during the last quarter. Persium Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 29.2% in the 1st quarter. Persium Advisors LLC now owns 3,212 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,189,000 after buying an additional 725 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advisory Partners LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 0.6% in the first quarter. Financial Advisory Partners LLC now owns 11,520 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,264,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Navigate Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,686,000. Finally, LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 134.5% during the 1st quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 339,806 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $125,786,000 after purchasing an additional 194,879 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts point to large upside after backlog surge — Several outlets note Microsoft’s commercial backlog nearly doubled, and Wall Street’s consensus price target (~$576) implies roughly 41% upside from current trading levels, giving bulls a clear valuation argument. Analysts See 41% Upside for Microsoft Stock After Nearly 100% Backlog Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Broker support: Stifel raised MSFT’s price target (keeps Hold) after Q3 results, signalling some analyst confidence in near-term fundamentals. Stifel Raises Microsoft (MSFT) Price Target, Keeps Hold Rating
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying — Funds including Manning & Napier and Yacktman reported increases to their Microsoft stakes, a vote of confidence from large investors. Manning & Napier Advisors Boosts Microsoft Stake
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst consensus sits at a “Moderate Buy” overall — supportive but not unanimous exuberance, so expectations are mixed. Microsoft Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy”
• Neutral Sentiment: Scotiabank issued an FY2027 earnings forecast update — more model refreshes are arriving from sell-side shops, keeping the story in flux as analysts re-run AI and OpenAI assumptions. FY2027 Earnings Forecast for Microsoft Issued By Scotiabank
• Negative Sentiment: Hedge funds are trimming tech exposure aggressively — a broad tech de-risking trade increases downside pressure on mega-cap names including Microsoft. Hedge Funds Launch Biggest Tech Stock Pullback In Over 10 Years
• Negative Sentiment: Capital spending/AI buildout concerns — commentators (including Jim Cramer) are flagging elevated data-center and AI infrastructure capex that could weigh on margins and near-term returns. Jim Cramer Points to Elevated Capital Spending as a Concern for Microsoft Investors
• Negative Sentiment: Critical takes on execution & AI strategy; some analysts and commentators label MSFT “a mess” given spending uncertainties and OpenAI-related modeling risk, which fosters short-term caution. Microsoft Is a Mess. Is the “Magnificent Seven” Stock a Buy in May or Better Avoided?
• Negative Sentiment: Data-center permitting/power constraints in regions like Denmark highlight potential bottlenecks for expansion, a relevant risk for cloud growth and capex timing. Denmark faces data center reckoning as power grid overwhelmed by surging demand

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).