MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) Shares Up 7.8% - Should You Buy?

MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 7.8% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $355.80 and last traded at $351.88. 10,781,721 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 18,866,801 shares. The stock had previously closed at $326.46.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSTR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Maxim Group upped their price target on shares of MicroStrategy from $193.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays raised their target price on MicroStrategy from $275.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Benchmark raised their price target on MicroStrategy from $450.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of MicroStrategy in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their target price on MicroStrategy from $290.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $479.25.

MicroStrategy Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $73.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -172.85 and a beta of 3.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company's fifty day moving average is $318.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $206.87.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen X. Graham sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.36, for a total value of $9,027,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,970 shares in the company, valued at $3,145,979.20. This represents a 74.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Andrew Kang sold 5,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.15, for a total value of $1,465,755.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 12,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,106,372. This represents a 32.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 102,000 shares of company stock worth $32,259,177. Insiders own 13.18% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MicroStrategy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in MicroStrategy by 900.0% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 150 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of MicroStrategy by 2,900.0% during the third quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software maker's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of MicroStrategy during the third quarter worth $27,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in MicroStrategy by 900.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 160 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in MicroStrategy by 900.0% in the 3rd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 170 shares of the software maker's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. 59.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.