Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Earns “Outperform” Rating from Royal Bank Of Canada

Posted by Defense World Staff on Mar 4th, 2026

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada in a research note issued on Monday,MarketScreener reports.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on MSFT. Bank of America reduced their target price on Microsoft from $640.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Robert W. Baird set a $540.00 price target on shares of Microsoft and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $640.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $591.95.

View Our Latest Analysis on MSFT

Microsoft Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $403.93 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $440.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $481.55. Microsoft has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 83,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total value of $1,364,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 55,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,703,959.04. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $50,664,631,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 500.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $30,840,432,000 after buying an additional 49,618,571 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 49,640.3% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,905,904,000 after buying an additional 29,906,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its stake in Microsoft by 908.5% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 23,568,250 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $11,398,077,000 after buying an additional 21,231,333 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Huge, ongoing AI investments from Microsoft and peers underscore the company’s commitment to AI leadership and justify premium multiples for Azure and Copilot-related revenue growth. Microsoft and Alphabet Spend Billions On AI: A Closer Look
Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s push into new data-center capacity (Michigan initiative) strengthens its ability to host AI workloads, reducing supply constraints and supporting future Azure/AI revenue. Microsoft Stock (NASDAQ:MSFT) Gains With New Charm Offensive for Data Centers in Michigan
Positive Sentiment: RBC reaffirmed an “outperform” rating, providing an analyst-level vote of confidence that can support buying interest after recent weakness. RBC Outperform Affirmed
Neutral Sentiment: Options activity and technical positioning show elevated trader interest and volatility—this can amplify moves but isn’t a clear directional catalyst on its own. Microsoft Stock Testing 2 Key Levels as Options Traders Pounce
Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street pieces and commentators list MSFT among top large-cap AI/infra names to own—supportive long-term thesis but not an immediate catalyst. 2 Trillion-Dollar Stocks That Could Soar by 40% and 50%
Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/video commentary highlights short-term SaaS volatility but sees Microsoft among rebound candidates—useful for traders, less so for long-term investors. SaaS-pocalypse Opportunities in MSFT, AMZN, PLTR, NOW & Others
Negative Sentiment: OpenAI is reportedly building a code-repository to rival GitHub, which could erode a strategic Microsoft asset and developer ecosystem advantage if it gains traction. OpenAI is developing alternative to Microsoft’s GitHub
Negative Sentiment: Ongoing “Microslop”/Copilot Discord controversy and criticism that MSFT is underperforming YTD weigh on sentiment and could pressure multiples if developer trust or user adoption is impacted. ‘It’s Performing Worse,’ Says Investor About Microsoft Stock

About Microsoft

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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).