MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) Shares Down 1.2% on Disappointing Earnings

MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR)’s share price dropped 1.2% on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as low as $328.50 and last traded at $332.61. Approximately 4,727,881 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 17,870,152 shares. The stock had previously closed at $336.70.

The software maker reported ($3.20) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($3.07). MicroStrategy had a negative net margin of 87.05% and a negative return on equity of 17.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MSTR shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of MicroStrategy in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of MicroStrategy from $613.00 to $619.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho started coverage on shares of MicroStrategy in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $515.00 target price for the company. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of MicroStrategy from $290.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of MicroStrategy from $275.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $544.78.

Insider Activity at MicroStrategy

In other MicroStrategy news, EVP Wei-Ming Shao sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.01, for a total transaction of $6,624,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,377,344.60. This trade represents a 73.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen X. Graham sold 20,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director now owns 6,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,145,979.20. This represents a 74.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 40,050 shares of company stock valued at $16,314,110 in the last three months. Company insiders own 9.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MicroStrategy

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of MicroStrategy by 746.2% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 20,647 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $3,481,000 after buying an additional 18,207 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MicroStrategy in the third quarter worth approximately $254,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of MicroStrategy by 979.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,727 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,134,000 after buying an additional 6,104 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of MicroStrategy by 782.8% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,255 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $717,000 after buying an additional 3,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MicroStrategy by 10,398.4% in the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 224,245 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $37,808,000 after buying an additional 222,109 shares during the last quarter. 59.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MicroStrategy Stock Performance

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 company has a market cap of $78.00 billion, a PE ratio of -154.47 and a beta of 3.25. The business’s fifty day moving average is $356.27 and its 200-day moving average is $254.50.

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.