Van ECK Associates Corp Reduces Stock Position in MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR)

Van ECK Associates Corp cut its stake in MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR) by 22.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 119,130 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 35,418 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in MicroStrategy were worth $34,503,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MSTR. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lifted its stake in MicroStrategy by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 1,120 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in MicroStrategy by 38.2% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 141 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in MicroStrategy by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,055 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $885,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in MicroStrategy by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,083 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $603,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Means Investment CO. Inc. lifted its stake in MicroStrategy by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc. now owns 3,159 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $915,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 59.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on MSTR shares. BTIG Research upped their price target on MicroStrategy from $290.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays reduced their price objective on MicroStrategy from $515.00 to $421.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of MicroStrategy in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on MicroStrategy from $510.00 to $409.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Maxim Group increased their price objective on MicroStrategy from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $536.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MicroStrategy news, Director Stephen X. Graham sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.36, for a total transaction of $9,027,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,145,979.20. This trade represents a 74.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 9.16% of the company’s stock.

MicroStrategy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSTR opened at $337.73 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.94 billion, a PE ratio of -59.96 and a beta of 3.25. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $349.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $261.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.65. MicroStrategy Incorporated has a 12 month low of $66.43 and a 12 month high of $543.00.

MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The software maker reported ($3.20) EPS 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%.

MicroStrategy Company Profile

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.