MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after BTIG Research raised their price target on the stock from $290.00 to $570.00. The stock had previously closed at $430.54, but opened at $463.40. BTIG Research currently has a buy rating on the stock. MicroStrategy shares last traded at $477.00, with a volume of 18,557,154 shares changing hands.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Maxim Group upped their target price on MicroStrategy from $193.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of MicroStrategy from $2,890.00 to $290.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of MicroStrategy from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of MicroStrategy from $225.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of MicroStrategy in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $194.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $331.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Jeanine Montgomery sold 56,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.41, for a total value of $14,479,312.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,459,514.70. This represents a 90.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew Kang sold 5,700 shares of MicroStrategy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.15, for a total value of $1,465,755.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 12,080 shares in the company, valued at $3,106,372. This represents a 32.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 82,000 shares of company stock worth $23,231,977. Insiders own 13.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSTR. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in MicroStrategy by 36.3% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 575 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $980,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of MicroStrategy in the first quarter valued at approximately $309,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in MicroStrategy by 23.3% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 720 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,227,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in MicroStrategy by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 1,374 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $2,343,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in MicroStrategy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $426,000. 72.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MicroStrategy Trading Down 18.2 %

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $228.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $78.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -183.65 and a beta of 3.05.

MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software maker reported ($1.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by ($1.44). The company had revenue of $116.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $121.45 million. MicroStrategy had a negative return on equity of 17.31% and a negative net margin of 87.05%. MicroStrategy’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($8.98) EPS.

About MicroStrategy

MicroStrategy Incorporated provides artificial intelligence-powered enterprise analytics software and services in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and internationally. It offers MicroStrategy ONE, which provides non-technical users with the ability to directly access novel and actionable insights for decision-making; and MicroStrategy Cloud for Government service, which offers always-on threat monitoring that meets the rigorous technical and regulatory needs of governments and financial institutions.