Takeshi Numoto, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Microsoft (MSFT), sold shares worth $1.12 million. According to the recent SEC filing, Numoto divested 2,500 shares of MSFT on December 9, at an average price of $447.412 per share. Investors should note that this marks the insider’s fourth informative sell transaction in the past month.
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He sold about $2.44 million worth of Microsoft stock earlier this month. Further, he divested the company’s shares worth $414,720 in November. It is worth mentioning that after the latest informative sell transaction, Numoto owns about 49,352 MSFT shares worth $21.9 million.
Bearish Insider Sentiment for MSFT Stock
It is worth highlighting that Numoto is not the only one who reduced his stake in the company. Based on other informative insider transactions from the last three months, corporate insiders have sold $38.7 million worth of MSFT stock. Overall, TipRanks’ Insider Trading Activity Tool shows that insider confidence in the stock is currently Negative.
Investors may benefit from keeping an eye on transactions made by key insiders, as these transactions typically reflect their confidence in the company’s prospects. Interestingly, TipRanks offers daily insider transactions as well as a list of top corporate insiders. It also provides a list of hot stocks that boast either a Very Positive or Positive insider confidence signal.
Top-Rated Analyst Sees 15% Upside in MSFT Stock
While insiders are bearish on the stock, Top-rated Bernstein analyst Mark Moerdler assigned a Buy rating on Microsoft with a price target of $511 per share, which implies a 15.3% upside from the current level (to see Moerdler’s track record, click here).
According to Moerdler, MSFT’s robust AI margins, expanding cloud business, and the recent Activision Blizzard acquisition (completed in October 2023) position the company as a key investment option for the next year.
What Is the Price Target for Microsoft?
Turning to Wall Street, MSFT stock has a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 26 Buys and two Holds assigned in the last three months. At $497.36, the average Microsoft price target implies a 12.19% upside potential. Shares of the company have gained 18.78% year-to-date.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
