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

MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $332.23, but opened at $343.50. MicroStrategy shares last traded at $350.64, with a volume of 4,988,469 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MSTR shares. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of MicroStrategy from $450.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on MicroStrategy from $392.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Maxim Group lifted their price objective on MicroStrategy from $193.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of MicroStrategy in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on MicroStrategy from $300.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $479.25.

MicroStrategy Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $85.84 billion, a PE ratio of -169.99 and a beta of 3.17. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $330.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $212.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

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

Insider Transactions at MicroStrategy

In other MicroStrategy news, EVP Wei-Ming Shao sold 18,000 shares of MicroStrategy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.01, for a total value of $6,624,180.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,377,344.60. The trade was a 73.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Jeanine Montgomery sold 56,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,459,514.70. This trade represents a 90.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 102,000 shares of company stock worth $32,259,177. Company insiders own 13.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MicroStrategy

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSTR. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MicroStrategy by 990.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,766,283 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $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 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 664,261 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $111,994,000 after buying an additional 567,628 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 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 worth $107,855,000 after buying an additional 579,994 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in shares of MicroStrategy by 904.7% during the third 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. raised its holdings in shares of MicroStrategy by 1,077.0% during 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. Institutional investors 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.