Monness Crespi & Hardt Downgrades MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) to Sell

MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Monness Crespi & Hardt from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $220.00 target price on the software maker's stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt's price target would suggest a potential downside of 22.06% from the company's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on MSTR. Compass Point upgraded shares of MicroStrategy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of MicroStrategy in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on MicroStrategy from $510.00 to $409.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $650.00 price target on shares of MicroStrategy in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Maxim Group upped their price objective on 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 given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MicroStrategy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $508.09.

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MicroStrategy Price Performance

NASDAQ MSTR traded down $30.26 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $282.28. The stock had a trading volume of 17,995,297 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,853,987. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $308.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $298.42. The company has a market cap of $72.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -50.11 and a beta of 3.36. MicroStrategy has a 52-week low of $101.00 and a 52-week high of $543.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 251.73% and a negative return on equity of 19.01%.

Insider Activity at MicroStrategy

In related news, CAO Jeanine Montgomery sold 481 shares of MicroStrategy stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.27, for a total value of $158,378.87. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,569,952.35. This trade represents a 5.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Leslie J. Rechan sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 4,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,669,423. This trade represents a 75.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 8,000 shares of company stock worth $680,000 and sold 22,998 shares worth $7,671,926. 9.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MicroStrategy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MSTR. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in MicroStrategy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of MicroStrategy during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in MicroStrategy by 855.6% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 86 shares of the software maker's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new stake in MicroStrategy in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in MicroStrategy by 900.0% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 160 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. 59.84% of the stock is 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.