MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $302.96, but opened at $316.96. MicroStrategy shares last traded at $305.58, with a volume of 4,332,128 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on MSTR. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of MicroStrategy in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of MicroStrategy from $392.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of MicroStrategy from $300.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Maxim Group lifted their target price on shares of MicroStrategy from $193.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of MicroStrategy from $275.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $479.25.

MicroStrategy Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $340.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $217.90. The company has a market cap of $69.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -137.46 and a beta of 3.17.

MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software maker reported ($1.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12) by ($1.44). MicroStrategy had a negative net margin of 87.05% and a negative return on equity of 17.31%. The business had revenue of $116.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $121.45 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($8.98) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Stephen X. Graham sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.36, for a total value of $9,027,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,145,979.20. The trade was a 74.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew Kang sold 5,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.15, for a total transaction of $1,465,755.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 12,080 shares in the company, valued at $3,106,372. This represents a 32.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 102,000 shares of company stock valued at $32,259,177 over the last 90 days. 13.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MicroStrategy by 781.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 46,483 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $7,837,000 after purchasing an additional 41,209 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in MicroStrategy in the third quarter valued at about $254,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in MicroStrategy by 1,105.2% in the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,640 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $782,000 after buying an additional 4,255 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in MicroStrategy by 3.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,248 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $716,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its stake in MicroStrategy by 900.0% during the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 2,350 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $396,000 after acquiring an additional 2,115 shares in the last quarter. 59.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MicroStrategy Company Profile

MicroStrategy Incorporated provides artificial intelligence-powered enterprise analytics software and services in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and internationally. It offers MicroStrategy ONE, which provides non-technical users with the ability to directly access novel and actionable insights for decision-making; and MicroStrategy Cloud for Government service, which offers always-on threat monitoring that meets the rigorous technical and regulatory needs of governments and financial institutions.