MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $367.00, but opened at $383.28. MicroStrategy shares last traded at $390.18, with a volume of 4,940,047 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSTR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Maxim Group boosted their price target on MicroStrategy from $193.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group upped 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. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of MicroStrategy in a report on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of MicroStrategy from $392.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of MicroStrategy in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $479.25.

MicroStrategy Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $361.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $232.27. The firm has a market cap of $93.45 billion, a PE ratio of -184.91 and a beta of 3.25.

MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 87.05% and a negative return on equity of 17.31%. The company had revenue of $116.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $121.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($8.98) earnings per share. MicroStrategy’s revenue was down 10.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Insider Transactions at MicroStrategy

In related news, CFO Andrew Kang sold 5,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.15, for a total transaction of $1,465,755.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 12,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,106,372. This trade represents a 32.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen X. Graham sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.36, for a total transaction of $9,027,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,145,979.20. The trade was a 74.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 102,000 shares of company stock valued at $32,259,177 in the last 90 days. 9.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MicroStrategy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in MicroStrategy by 990.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,766,283 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $465,573,000 after acquiring an additional 2,512,645 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of MicroStrategy by 971.3% in the third 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 period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in MicroStrategy by 587.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 664,261 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $111,994,000 after purchasing an additional 567,628 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in MicroStrategy by 904.7% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 468,200 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $78,939,000 after buying an additional 421,600 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in MicroStrategy by 1,077.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 343,164 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $57,857,000 after buying an additional 314,007 shares during the last quarter. 59.84% of the stock is currently 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.