MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume on Analyst Upgrade

MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR) saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday after BTIG Research raised their price target on the stock from $290.00 to $570.00. BTIG Research currently has a buy rating on the stock. 15,694,022 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 11% from the previous session’s volume of 17,617,355 shares.The stock last traded at $525.44 and had previously closed at $473.83.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of MicroStrategy from $2,890.00 to $290.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on MicroStrategy from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on MicroStrategy from $173.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Maxim Group raised their target price on shares of MicroStrategy from $193.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of MicroStrategy in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $194.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $331.13.

Insider Transactions at MicroStrategy

In other news, CAO Jeanine Montgomery sold 56,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.41, for a total value of $14,479,312.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,459,514.70. This represents a 90.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Phong Le sold 1,252 shares of MicroStrategy stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.45, for a total transaction of $403,707.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,918 shares in the company, valued at $4,487,859.10. This trade represents a 8.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 82,000 shares of company stock valued at $23,231,977 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in MicroStrategy by 990.6% during the 3rd 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 period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $111,994,000 after purchasing an additional 567,628 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in MicroStrategy by 971.3% in 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 buying an additional 579,994 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in MicroStrategy by 904.7% during the 3rd 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. boosted its holdings in shares of MicroStrategy by 1,077.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 314,007 shares in the last quarter. 72.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MicroStrategy Stock Down 18.2 %

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 firm has a market cap of $78.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -183.65 and a beta of 3.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $228.07 and its 200 day moving average is $173.86.

MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) last issued 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 return on equity of 17.31% and a negative net margin of 87.05%. The company had revenue of $116.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $121.45 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($8.98) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

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.