Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Up 5.7% – Still a Buy?

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Jun 26th, 2026

Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) were up 5.7% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $376.61 and last traded at $372.97. 181,996,999 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 384% from the average session volume of 37,577,375 shares. The stock had previously closed at $352.83.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is benefiting from a rebound in the broader memory and semiconductor complex, which is easing some of the pressure that has weighed on AI-related tech stocks. Microsoft Has Fallen 25% This Year: What Could Push MSFT Back to $500?
Positive Sentiment: Wedbush and other bullish commentators argued that investors are treating Microsoft like a “bear market” stock even though its long-term AI and cloud story remains intact, suggesting the recent weakness may be a buying opportunity. Dan Ives Says Microsoft And Meta Are Being Treated Like ‘Bear Market’ Stocks
Positive Sentiment: Several reports highlighted Microsoft’s partnerships and ecosystem expansion, including Commvault becoming a native Azure service and ICON plc naming Microsoft its preferred technology partner, reinforcing Azure/Copilot adoption. Microsoft Just Made Commvault a Native Azure Service. Here Is How to Play CVLT Stock.
Neutral Sentiment: Michael Burry disclosed a long position in Microsoft, which adds a headline boost, but investors are treating it more as a sentiment signal than a direct business catalyst. Microsoft buy alert as Michael Burry goes long on MSFT stock
Negative Sentiment: Microsoft raised Xbox prices again, citing soaring memory and storage costs, underscoring margin pressure in gaming and adding to concerns that AI and hardware inflation are squeezing profitability. Microsoft lifts price of Xbox consoles due to soaring component costs
Negative Sentiment: Stifel cut its Microsoft price target, saying cloud-margin estimates are too high as Azure growth requires heavier capital spending, which has fueled investor worries about future profitability. Stifel cuts Microsoft target, says Street FY27 gross margin estimates are too high
Negative Sentiment: Microsoft also faces fresh legal and regulatory pressure, including an Italian antitrust probe over Microsoft 365 price hikes and multiple shareholder class-action notices tied to alleged securities fraud. Italy regulator probes Microsoft over ‘Microsoft 365’ price hike

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $595.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $540.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $525.00 price objective (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $550.00 target price on the stock. Forty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $560.86.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on MSFT

Microsoft Trading Up 5.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.77 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $411.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $421.81.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The firm’s revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. WealthPoint Financial LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. WealthPoint Financial LLC now owns 3,921 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,452,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Ravenstone Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.7% in the first quarter. Ravenstone Capital Management Inc. now owns 36,773 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $13,612,000 after acquiring an additional 1,663 shares during the period. Paladin Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 11.3% during the first quarter. Paladin Partners LLC now owns 3,516 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,302,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. Hamilton Wealth LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 16.8% during the first quarter. Hamilton Wealth LLC now owns 68,212 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $25,250,000 after purchasing an additional 9,802 shares during the period. Finally, Ballast Advisors LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 1.7% during the first quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC now owns 25,929 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,598,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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).