Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 943,367 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 16% compared to the typical daily volume of 815,592 call options.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure growth exceeded expectations. Azure revenue increased 43% year over year, above the roughly 40% analyst forecast, and annual Azure revenue surpassed $100 billion for the first time. Intelligent Cloud revenue rose 32% to $39.3 billion, strengthening confidence in Microsoft’s cloud and AI strategy. Microsoft tops quarterly cloud growth estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft delivered a broad earnings beat. Fiscal Q4 revenue reached $90.01 billion versus an $87.62 billion consensus estimate, while adjusted earnings per share came in at $4.74 versus $4.24 expected. Revenue grew 17.7% year over year and net income rose about 31%. Microsoft Q4 earnings beat estimates
• Positive Sentiment: AI monetization is gaining traction. Microsoft 365 Copilot surpassed 30 million paid users, up from 20 million in April. Management also cited strong AI demand, a large customer backlog and a first-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue outlook of $89.9 billion to $91.0 billion, slightly above consensus. Analysts responded with multiple buy-rating reiterations and higher price targets. Microsoft shares set for best day in nearly 18 years
• Neutral Sentiment: Capital spending remains elevated but appears more manageable. Microsoft’s projected 2026 capital expenditures declined to approximately $175 billion from $190 billion, largely because of an accounting adjustment rather than a major reduction in AI investment. The company said GPU spending can be slowed if demand weakens, while extending data-center lifespans may improve returns. Microsoft’s capex forecast
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and legal overhangs persist. The U.K. competition regulator is investigating whether Microsoft misled customers about Microsoft 365 subscription options, while several law firms publicized securities-fraud lawsuits related to alleged Copilot disclosures. UK investigation into Microsoft 365 subscriptions
• Negative Sentiment: Cloud-security and competitive risks remain. Cybersecurity firm Wiz reported a flaw that could potentially have exposed Microsoft cloud customers, and Nvidia’s proposed financing backstop for OpenAI highlights uncertainty around AI infrastructure financing and Microsoft’s relationship with competing AI platforms. Wiz report on Microsoft cloud flaw

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT stock traded up $65.12 during trading on Thursday, hitting $455.66. The company had a trading volume of 79,764,894 shares, compared to its average volume of 37,393,605. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $396.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $405.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market cap of $3.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.13. Microsoft has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Microsoft will post 16.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Platform Technology Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 45,761 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $17,070,000 after buying an additional 3,167 shares during the period. Financial Perspectives Inc lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 5.2% in the second quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 35,154 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $13,113,000 after acquiring an additional 1,725 shares during the period. MBE Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. MBE Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,600 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,343,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. SWP Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 33.4% during the 2nd quarter. SWP Financial LLC now owns 1,030 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 20.5% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 23,516 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $8,772,000 after purchasing an additional 3,994 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MSFT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 20th. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. HSBC dropped their price target on Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $640.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $557.98.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).