MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) Given "Buy" Rating at Benchmark

MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by Benchmark in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $650.00 price target on the software maker's stock. Benchmark's price objective indicates a potential upside of 89.96% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on MSTR. TD Cowen increased their price objective on MicroStrategy from $392.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on MicroStrategy from $300.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of MicroStrategy from $275.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. BTIG Research lifted their price target on MicroStrategy from $290.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Maxim Group increased their price objective on MicroStrategy from $193.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $479.25.

MicroStrategy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSTR traded up $13.77 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $342.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 17,787,270 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,338,008. MicroStrategy has a 12 month low of $43.87 and a 12 month high of $543.00. The firm has a market cap of $82.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -162.40 and a beta of 3.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $355.08 and a 200-day moving average of $228.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Wei-Ming Shao sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.01, for a total value of $6,624,180.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,460 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,377,344.60. This represents a 73.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew Kang sold 5,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 12,080 shares in the company, valued at $3,106,372. The trade was a 32.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 102,000 shares of company stock worth $32,259,177 in the last ninety days. 13.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MicroStrategy

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in MicroStrategy by 990.6% in the third 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 last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in MicroStrategy by 971.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 639,707 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $107,855,000 after purchasing an additional 579,994 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of MicroStrategy by 587.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 664,261 shares of the software maker's stock worth $111,994,000 after buying an additional 567,628 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in shares of MicroStrategy by 904.7% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 468,200 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $78,939,000 after buying an additional 421,600 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of MicroStrategy by 1,077.0% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 343,164 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $57,857,000 after buying an additional 314,007 shares during the period. 59.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.