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

MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) was downgraded by analysts at Monness Crespi & Hardt from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Finviz reports. They currently have a $220.00 target price on the software maker’s stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt’s price objective suggests a potential downside of 23.68% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on MSTR. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of MicroStrategy in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Compass Point raised MicroStrategy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on MicroStrategy from $613.00 to $619.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays dropped their price target on MicroStrategy from $515.00 to $421.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on MicroStrategy in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $515.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $508.09.

MicroStrategy Price Performance

MSTR opened at $288.27 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $311.48 and a 200 day moving average of $297.16. The stock has a market cap of $74.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -51.18 and a beta of 3.36. 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 has a 52-week low of $101.00 and a 52-week high of $543.00.

MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The software maker reported ($3.20) earnings per share (EPS) 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Leslie J. Rechan sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.90, for a total transaction 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 represents a 75.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Wei-Ming Shao purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $85.00 per share, with a total value of $42,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,500. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 8,000 shares of company stock worth $680,000 and sold 22,998 shares worth $7,671,926. 9.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MicroStrategy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MicroStrategy by 990.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,766,283 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $465,573,000 after buying an additional 2,512,645 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of MicroStrategy in the 4th quarter valued at $523,981,000. Amundi raised its stake in MicroStrategy by 262.8% in 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 lifted its position in MicroStrategy by 266.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 417,574 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $120,938,000 after acquiring an additional 303,517 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in MicroStrategy during the 4th quarter valued at about $81,783,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.84% of the company’s stock.

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.