MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) Rating Lowered to Sell at Monness Crespi & Hardt

MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Monness Crespi & Hardt from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating in a report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $220.00 price objective on the software maker's stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt's price objective points to a potential downside of 29.61% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on MSTR. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of MicroStrategy from $613.00 to $619.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Compass Point raised MicroStrategy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of MicroStrategy in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Mizuho began coverage on MicroStrategy in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $515.00 target price for the company. Finally, Maxim Group increased their price target on shares of MicroStrategy from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $508.09.

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MicroStrategy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSTR traded up $6.52 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $312.54. The company had a trading volume of 15,963,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,853,194. MicroStrategy has a 52 week low of $101.00 and a 52 week high of $543.00. The business's 50 day moving average price is $309.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $298.32. The stock has a market cap of $80.43 billion, a PE ratio of -55.48 and a beta of 3.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.71.

MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The software maker reported ($3.20) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($3.07). MicroStrategy had a negative return on equity of 19.01% and a negative net margin of 251.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Wei-Ming Shao bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $85.00 per share, with a total value of $42,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 500 shares in the company, valued at $42,500. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Leslie J. Rechan sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.90, for a total value of $5,038,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,669,423. This trade represents a 75.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders bought 8,000 shares of company stock valued at $680,000 and sold 22,998 shares valued at $7,671,926. Insiders own 9.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of MicroStrategy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MicroStrategy by 990.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,766,283 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $465,573,000 after purchasing an additional 2,512,645 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of MicroStrategy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $523,981,000. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of MicroStrategy by 262.8% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 570,217 shares of the software maker's stock worth $165,146,000 after acquiring an additional 413,028 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in MicroStrategy by 266.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 417,574 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $120,938,000 after acquiring an additional 303,517 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in MicroStrategy during the 4th quarter valued at $81,783,000. 59.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.