Jefferies Financial Group Reiterates “Buy” Rating for Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)

24 Sep 2026, 15:58 by Sarita Garza · The Markets Daily

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

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on MSFT. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $510.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Forty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $569.29.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Microsoft

Microsoft Stock Down 1.8%

MSFT opened at $491.45 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.65 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $473.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $424.91. Microsoft has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $553.72.

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

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total transaction of $20,764,903.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at $265,888,830.48. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 100,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MSFT. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,280,983 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $477,832,000 after buying an additional 99,314 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 8.1% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 346,475 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $129,230,000 after acquiring an additional 25,814 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 315,653,206 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $117,744,959,000 after acquiring an additional 8,944,917 shares during the period. Silicon Valley Capital Partners grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 153,778 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $57,362,000 after purchasing an additional 8,022 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 35.9% during the 2nd quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 22,364 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $8,342,000 after purchasing an additional 5,905 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft News Roundup

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

About Microsoft

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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.