Benchmark Begins Coverage on Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Equities researchers at Benchmark began coverage on shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating on the software giant’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on MSFT. HSBC dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $667.00 to $588.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $600.00 price target (down from $650.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $600.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $588.97.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock traded up $0.44 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $370.61. The stock had a trading volume of 7,537,387 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,065,426. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $405.66 and its 200 day moving average is $465.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Microsoft has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.75 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.16, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 83,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. BLVD Private Wealth LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA raised its holdings in Microsoft by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 1,276 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $635,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.3% in the third quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. now owns 6,509 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,371,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 1.0% in the third quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,002,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 2.9% in the third quarter. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 700 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Plans to invest $5.5 billion in Singapore through 2029 to build cloud and AI infrastructure — reinforces Azure capacity in APAC and supports long‑term enterprise demand for Microsoft’s cloud services. Microsoft Plans to Invest $5.5 Billion in Singapore by 2029
• Positive Sentiment: Commitment to invest >$1 billion in Thailand over two years for cloud and AI infrastructure — expands regional data‑center footprint and potential Azure revenue. Microsoft plans $1 billion investment in Thailand, Thai government says
• Positive Sentiment: Exclusive power‑supply agreement with Chevron and Engine No. 1 to explore large energy projects for data centers — helps secure long‑term energy for AI compute and mitigates a key operational risk for Azure expansion. Microsoft, Chevron and Engine No. 1 sign exclusive deal for power supply
• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark initiated coverage with a Buy and $450 price target — adds institutional support and a bullish analyst viewpoint amid the pullback. Analyst sets Microsoft stock price target
• Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI raised $122 billion at an $852 billion valuation — validates massive demand and capital flowing into AI, which could accelerate cloud spend (benefitting Azure) but also reshapes competitive dynamics in the AI stack. OpenAI Raises $122 Billion in Funding Round Valuing Company at $852 Billion
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft reshuffled its entire AI organization — management aligning AI assets could improve execution, but details will determine speed of monetization and margin impact. Microsoft Just Reshuffled Its Entire AI Organization. Should Investors Be Worried — or Excited?
• Negative Sentiment: U.K. competition authority launching an antitrust probe into Microsoft’s business‑software ecosystem and cloud licensing — regulatory action could lead to remedies, pricing/packaging changes or operational constraints in Europe. UK to launch antitrust probe into Microsoft’s business software
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction to a steep quarterly selloff and commentary that Microsoft just had its worst quarter since 2008 — investor worry centers on heavy AI‑related capex, margin pressure and uncertain adoption/monetization pace for Copilot and other AI products. Microsoft closes worst quarter on Wall Street since 2008 on AI concerns

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).