MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) Shares Down 2% on Insider Selling

Shares of MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR) fell 2% during trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $325.82 and last traded at $335.01. 6,450,641 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 17,897,928 shares. The stock had previously closed at $341.81.

Specifically, Director Leslie J. Rechan sold 15,000 shares of MicroStrategy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.90, for a total value of $5,038,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,970 shares in the company, valued at $1,669,423. The trade was a 75.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew Kang sold 2,185 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.26, for a total value of $719,433.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 15,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,009,690.90. This represents a 12.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other MicroStrategy news, EVP Wei-Ming Shao sold 2,051 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.26, for a total value of $675,312.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,489,168.22. This represents a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSTR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Compass Point raised shares of MicroStrategy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of MicroStrategy in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays dropped their target price on MicroStrategy from $515.00 to $421.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of MicroStrategy from $510.00 to $409.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of MicroStrategy in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $515.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MicroStrategy presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $536.90.

MicroStrategy Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $315.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $292.60. The firm has a market cap of $74.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -51.38 and a beta of 3.36.

MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. 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 251.73% and a negative return on equity of 19.01%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MicroStrategy

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in MicroStrategy by 1,486.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 5,410 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $912,000 after purchasing an additional 5,069 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MicroStrategy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MicroStrategy by 1,109.4% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 2,310 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $389,000 after acquiring an additional 2,119 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MicroStrategy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,040,000. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in MicroStrategy by 852.5% in the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,810 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $642,000 after purchasing an additional 3,410 shares in the last quarter. 59.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.