Microsoft’s (MSFT) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Jefferies Financial Group

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group in a report released on Thursday,MarketScreener reports.

MSFT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Microsoft from $665.00 to $630.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $650.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Guggenheim set a $675.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Rothschild Redb downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $450.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $623.13.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $448.14 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $480.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $501.75. Microsoft has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The company has a market capitalization of $3.33 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 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 earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.48. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 35.71%.The company had revenue of $77.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total transaction of $1,364,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 55,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,703,959.04. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total value of $6,266,880.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at $63,577,620.48. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 54,100 shares of company stock valued at $27,598,872 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 5.9% in the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 342 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. BLVD Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.6% in the third quarter. BLVD Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,169 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,641,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. PMV Capital Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 5.9% during the second quarter. PMV Capital Advisers LLC now owns 359 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $178,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Seek First Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Seek First Inc. now owns 1,358 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $675,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Level Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Level Financial Advisors now owns 2,680 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,333,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large brand & technology deal with Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 — Microsoft will integrate Azure and AI tools with the team in a multi‑year sponsorship, a visible commercial showcase that supports enterprise AI positioning and marketing momentum. Mercedes reveal images of 2026 F1 car, announce Microsoft deal
• Positive Sentiment: U.S. defense contract: Microsoft won a $170.44M Air Force Cloud One task order for Azure services through Dec. 2028 — small relative to MSFT’s scale but a recurring win that validates Azure in government cloud. Microsoft (MSFT) Stock: Air Force Awards $170 Million Cloud One Contract
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street remains mixed but not uniformly negative: some firms trimmed targets yet kept Buy ratings (TD Cowen, Citigroup, Goldman maintained a high PT), leaving analyst coverage a mix of supportive and cautious views ahead of earnings. All Eyes on Microsoft Stock Ahead of Earnings Next Week; Here’s What Wall Street Expects
• Neutral Sentiment: Market is focused on the Jan. 28 earnings date — expectations are high for AI/cloud growth but the report is a near‑term catalyst that could increase volatility. Dear Microsoft Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for January 28
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades and lower price targets are hitting sentiment — some outlets and firms are flagging downside scenarios and trimming targets, which amplifies selling pressure amid already weaker tape. Microsoft Stock To $350?
• Negative Sentiment: Rothschild & Co Redburn cut its target and moved to Neutral — another explicit downgrade that can prompt short‑term outflows from model/quant strategies. Rothschild & Co Redburn adjusts price target on Microsoft to 450
• Negative Sentiment: Broader investor caution on AI spending and bubble talk: CEO comments and wider debate about energy costs, data‑center capacity and whether AI investment scales beyond Big Tech are weighing on confidence in further near‑term multiple expansion. Satya Nadella’s biggest AI bubble warning yet
• Negative Sentiment: Institutional moves and share supply: reports of a hedge fund trimming MSFT exposure and Microsoft (and partners) selling shares in PhonePe’s IPO add marginal selling pressure and headline noise. Cypress Funds LLC Cuts Microsoft Stake

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).