Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Price Target Raised to $700.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) had its target price lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $650.00 to $700.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the software giant’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price points to a potential upside of 38.94% from the company’s previous close.

MSFT has been the subject of several other reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $510.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $560.27.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT opened at $503.81 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $3.74 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.05, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50 day moving average is $407.02 and its 200 day moving average is $407.37. Microsoft has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft will post 19.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 38,572 shares of company stock valued at $17,775,330. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in Microsoft by 27.0% during the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,658,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 410.4% in the 3rd quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 2,138 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 23,097 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,735,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft could unveil its next-generation Maia 300 AI chip as early as September continue to support the stock. The chip could reduce Microsoft’s reliance on Nvidia processors, lower infrastructure costs and strengthen its Azure offering; production of more than 300,000 units is reportedly being planned for 2027. Microsoft plans to unveil its new Maia 300 AI chip this fall
• Positive Sentiment: Bernstein maintained an Outperform rating and raised its Microsoft price target to $660, arguing that the company is taking a measured approach to AI data-center expansion. Flexible facilities, staggered commitments and continued Azure demand may help contain the risk of overbuilding. Bernstein raises Microsoft target price to $660
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains broadly constructive. Articles cite Microsoft’s Azure growth, large backlog, AI monetization potential and reasonable valuation, while a separate report said hedge funds favor MSFT over Meta. Analysts collectively assign the shares an average “Moderate Buy” rating. Microsoft receives a Moderate Buy analyst rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent institutional activity was mixed: Davis Selected Advisers and Yacktman Asset Management increased their positions, while Generation Investment Management, Vulcan Value Partners and Crake Asset Management reduced holdings. These trades may reflect portfolio management rather than a broad change in Microsoft’s fundamentals.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s aggressive AI data-center buildout remains a key investor concern. Rising capital expenditures could weigh on margins, free cash flow and returns if AI demand slows, despite management’s claims of disciplined spending. Microsoft’s AI data-center spending could pressure returns
• Negative Sentiment: Other risks include reports that AI tools are identifying Windows vulnerabilities faster than Microsoft can fix them, scrutiny over AI-agent security breaches and multiple law-firm notices concerning a securities class-action lawsuit. These developments could increase regulatory, litigation and reputational risk. AI identifies Windows flaws faster than Microsoft can fix them

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).