Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Melius Research upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $595.00 to $625.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $630.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $625.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $630.11.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.2%

MSFT opened at $479.28 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $488.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $503.62. Microsoft has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The stock has a market cap of $3.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $77.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.49 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Microsoft will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total transaction of $6,266,880.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at $63,577,620.48. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total transaction of $1,364,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 55,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,703,959.04. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 54,100 shares of company stock worth $27,598,872 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in 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 in the last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 386.7% in the second quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth $49,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Office 365 subscription growth is accelerating (commercial + consumer uptake, higher-tier migration and AI features boosting revenue per user), which supports recurring revenue and margin resilience. MSFT’s Office 365 Subscription Growth Picks Up
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft launched agentic AI solutions for retailers (automation across merchandising, store ops and fulfillment) — expands monetization avenues for Azure/Copilot in commerce. Microsoft Introduces Agentic AI Solutions for Retailers
• Positive Sentiment: PayPal will power Copilot Checkout flows, a partnership that helps drive payments volume inside Microsoft’s Copilot ecosystem and could lift monetization of consumer workflows. PayPal Teams With Microsoft to Power Checkout in Copilot
• Positive Sentiment: Prominent commentators and analysts remain constructive — Jim Cramer voiced continued confidence in Microsoft, and firms (Wedbush/Jefferies/Scotiabank coverage) reiterate upside tied to Azure/AI momentum. These endorsements support investor sentiment. Jim Cramer Says “Going Forward, I Still Feel Pretty Good About Microsoft”
• Neutral Sentiment: EU digital rule overhaul reportedly won’t impose heavy-handed restrictions on big tech — reduces a regulatory overhang but is broadly industry-wide news. Big Tech spared strict rules in EU digital rule overhaul
• Negative Sentiment: Reports say AI‑capable PC sales came in below expectations, denting the near‑term hardware/AI upgrade narrative that had been a tailwind for Microsoft’s Windows/partner ecosystem. “AI Confuses Them More Than it Helps…”: Microsoft Stock Slips as AI PC Sales Less Than Expected
• Negative Sentiment: Rumors of large job cuts circulated (company communications called the figures inaccurate), creating headline risk around rising AI costs and cost‑base adjustments. Short-term volatility can follow such reports even when later denied. “100 Percent Made Up”: Microsoft Stock Slips in Response to Layoff Rumors
• Negative Sentiment: Local opposition emerged after Microsoft was identified as the developer behind a contentious Michigan data‑center proposal — potential permitting delays and PR drag. Microsoft behind controversial data center proposal in Michigan

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).