Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Earns “Outperform” Rating from Wedbush

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by equities researchers at Wedbush in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $625.00 price objective on the software giant’s stock. Wedbush’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 28.38% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on Microsoft from $630.00 to $632.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Wolfe Research dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $625.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 15th. Rothschild & Co Redburn reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective (down previously from $560.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $625.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Melius Research upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $595.00 to $625.00 in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $631.03.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $486.85 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $498.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $503.53. Microsoft has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The company has a market cap of $3.62 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.63, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $77.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.49 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 35.71%.The firm’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total transaction of $6,266,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,577,620.48. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total value of $1,364,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,703,959.04. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 54,100 shares of company stock worth $27,598,872 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 386.7% during the second quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter worth approximately $49,000. 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: Evercore named Microsoft a top software pick for 2026, citing enterprise software strength and AI exposure—boosts investor confidence in MSFT’s secular growth story. Microsoft, Salesforce Lead Evercore’s 2026 Picks
• Positive Sentiment: High-profile bullish calls (Wedbush/Dan Ives and others) forecast a big AI-driven revenue bump in 2026 and reaffirm outperform ratings and lofty price targets, supporting upward pressure on the stock. Microsoft Stock Has 29% Upside in 2026, Says Dan Ives
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s internal dev move to standardize code (shifting priorities among languages) is being framed as productivity and engineering efficiency wins that can lower costs and speed product delivery. C Out, Rust In: Microsoft Stock Gains With New Code Standardization Plan
• Positive Sentiment: Analyses arguing Microsoft could be a top AI beneficiary in 2026 (scale of Azure, Copilot integrations, data-center investment) underpin long-term upside expectations for enterprise cloud and AI revenue. Why Microsoft Could Be the Biggest AI Winner in 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Policy change: DHS is replacing the H‑1B lottery with a weighted selection prioritizing higher-paid, skilled hires; Microsoft was a top recipient—this alters talent sourcing dynamics but the net impact on MSFT hiring/costs is ambiguous. Trump administration moves to overhaul H-1B visas
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/sector pieces positioning AI as the dominant 2026 investment theme keep Microsoft in investors’ watch lists but also raise expectations and scrutiny around capex and margin trade-offs. Three must-own stocks if AI spending will remain strong in 2026
• Negative Sentiment: Execution concerns: reports that Satya Nadella pushed teams on Copilot progress and commentary that OpenAI ties may be a liability have raised questions about adoption, execution risk, and partnership complexity. These stories can pressure the stock despite bullish AI forecasts. Microsoft CEO Pushes Staff on Copilot Ambitions
• Negative Sentiment: Critical analysis warns of overbuilding (heavy AI capex) and OpenAI-related risks which could weigh on margins and capital intensity if revenue ramp is slower than expected. Microsoft: Not Immune To The Risk Of Overbuilding

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).