Rothschild & Co Redburn Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) had its price target cut by stock analysts at Rothschild & Co Redburn from $450.00 to $400.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the software giant’s stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn’s target price would indicate a potential downside of 4.67% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on MSFT. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 18th. DZ Bank restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $590.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $575.34.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $419.62 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $392.73 and its 200 day moving average is $452.09. Microsoft has a 12 month low of $356.28 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The company has a market capitalization of $3.12 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BLVD Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. BLVD Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,169 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,641,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. raised its stake 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 boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.0% in the third quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,002,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.9% during the third quarter. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 700 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large Australia AI investment strengthens cloud/AI capacity and long‑term revenue prospects — Microsoft announced a A$25B (≈$18B) commitment to expand Azure AI supercomputing, cybersecurity and skills through 2029, a big-capex bet that supports Azure demand and positions MSFT for international AI growth. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Anthropic’s Mythos integrated into Microsoft security workflow — placing advanced models into its Secure Development Lifecycle can reduce vulnerabilities and bolster enterprise security offerings, making Azure more attractive to risk‑sensitive customers. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Xbox price cuts aim to defend subscriber base and engagement — Game Pass reductions are a strategic move to retain/grow recurring revenue amid competitive pressure in gaming. This supports consumer‑facing unit stability even if near‑term ARPU is pressured. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Leadership change at LinkedIn — longtime COO Daniel Shapero named CEO; continuity likely, but execution matters as LinkedIn integrates more AI features. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft considered buying Cursor but did not bid — shows active M&A scanning for AI capabilities but also missed larger deal (SpaceX). Not an immediate earnings driver, but relevant to strategic positioning. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming quarter on investors’ radar — numerous previews and analyst commentary flag April 29 earnings as a potential catalyst that could re‑rate shares if Azure/AI metrics beat or disappoint. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: £2.1B ($2.8B) UK cloud‑licensing lawsuit moves forward — a large potential liability and legal overhang that could create headline risk and uncertainty around commercial licensing practices. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Investor skepticism about Microsoft’s AI positioning — opinion pieces questioning whether MSFT is “stumbling” in the AI race add short‑term sentiment pressure and could amplify volatility if competitors report stronger traction. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Notable insider selling and mixed institutional flows — disclosures show several insider sales and large institutional portfolio moves, which can be interpreted as profit‑taking or rebalancing ahead of earnings. Read More.

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).