MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) Shares Gap Down Following Insider Selling

Shares of MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $403.45, but opened at $382.78. MicroStrategy shares last traded at $393.44, with a volume of 4,863,878 shares.

Specifically, Director Stephen X. Graham sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.36, for a total transaction of $9,027,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,145,979.20. This trade represents a 74.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of MicroStrategy from $290.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Benchmark increased their price target on shares of MicroStrategy from $450.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays boosted their price objective on MicroStrategy from $275.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on MicroStrategy from $300.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Maxim Group boosted their price target on MicroStrategy from $193.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $479.25.

MicroStrategy Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $239.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $178.58. The stock has a market cap of $71.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -167.63 and a beta of 3.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

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

Institutional Trading of MicroStrategy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MSTR. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in MicroStrategy by 19.6% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 1,374 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $2,343,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its position in shares of MicroStrategy by 36.4% during the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,590 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $2,710,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in MicroStrategy in the first quarter valued at about $1,040,000. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in MicroStrategy by 15.7% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 14,841 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $25,297,000 after acquiring an additional 2,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new position in MicroStrategy during the first quarter worth about $8,901,000. Institutional investors own 72.03% of the company’s stock.

MicroStrategy Company Profile

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.