Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Receives Buy Rating from Jefferies Financial Group

24 Sep 2026, 14:46 by Tristan Rich · The Markets Daily

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

MSFT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Microsoft from $522.00 to $608.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Forty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $569.29.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on MSFT

Microsoft Trading Down 1.4%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $493.50 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.66 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $553.72. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $473.55 and a 200-day moving average of $424.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft will post 19.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Microsoft by 2.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 315,653,206 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $117,744,959,000 after purchasing an additional 8,944,917 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after acquiring an additional 60,009,531 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,338,370,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 64,375,360 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $24,013,297,000 after acquiring an additional 543,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth $18,306,443,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Analyst confidence is improving. Stifel upgraded Microsoft to Buy from Hold and raised its price target to $575, citing Azure growth, Copilot adoption, stable margins and disciplined AI spending. Oppenheimer has also raised its target to $570, reinforcing expectations for additional upside. Microsoft Upgraded as Analyst Sees Steady Margins Even Without Heavy AI Model Spending
Positive Sentiment: Azure remains the primary growth catalyst. Reports point to a major Azure milestone and two upcoming cloud catalysts that could lead investors to assign a higher valuation to Microsoft’s AI infrastructure and recurring cloud revenue. Strong Azure and Copilot momentum is also expected to support fiscal 2027 growth. Prediction: Microsoft’s Best Growth Opportunity May Still Be Ahead
Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is expanding its AI infrastructure footprint. The company plans to invest more than $10 billion in Gulf countries through 2030, including cloud, AI infrastructure, cybersecurity and connectivity. The spending could create longer-term regional demand for Azure and related services. Microsoft Plans $10 Billion-Plus Gulf Investment
Neutral Sentiment: Management is reshaping Microsoft around AI. Leadership is emphasizing an AI-first culture, safety evaluators and “emergency brake” controls for advanced systems. These initiatives may strengthen trust and enterprise adoption, though they also highlight regulatory and execution risks. Microsoft Recasts Culture Around AI
Negative Sentiment: Risks include AI spending and concentration. Warnings about a potential AI bubble, hyperscaler capital requirements and dependence on a small number of customers could limit valuation expansion if AI demand slows.
Negative Sentiment: Xbox restructuring remains a modest overhang. Microsoft is cutting hundreds of gaming jobs and transferring the next Halo project to Activision, signaling a broader reset in the gaming division. Microsoft Cuts Hundreds More Jobs in Xbox Overhaul

Microsoft Company Profile

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Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital solutions for consumers, businesses and public-sector organizations. Its products and services include the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365 productivity applications, Teams collaboration software, Dynamics business applications and Azure cloud computing services.