And it appears to have caught the attention of many investors on both sides of the Atlantic.

Of the 11 US analysts covering the company, 10 consider it a Buy.

Closer to home, during the week ended 3 January, it was the most popular stock with Hargreaves Lansdown’s clients. Of all that week’s purchases on the platform, MicroStrategy saw the most activity, both in terms of trades (3.21%) and the value of deals placed (5.04%).

An extended bull run

Not surprisingly, this interest has helped drive its price higher.

Since January 2024, it’s increased by 470%.

And this impressive performance shows no signs of slowing down. Helped by the prospect of a second Trump presidency (he’s seen as being more pro-crypto than Joe Biden) during the first eight days of 2025, the stock’s up 18%. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance though, of course.

But a closer look at the statistics is revealing.

Although it was the post-Christmas number one with Hargreaves Lansdown’s buyers, it was also popular with sellers, accounting for 4.55% of all trades.

This could be a sign that the stock’s being bought with a view to making a quick profit, rather than for its long-term growth prospects.

It might also explain why it’s the most volatile stock on the S&P 500. Although its done well in 2025, I think it’s worth noting that it’s fallen 28% from its November 2024 peak.

Looking to the future

But the company does have a growth strategy, albeit a simple one. It plans to buy more Bitcoin, and lots of it.

Over the next three years, it hopes to purchase $42bn of the digital asset.

However, given that MicroStrategy’s software business isn’t cash generative — during the nine months ended 30 September 2024, it reported a post-tax loss of $48m — all of the funds will have to come from a combination of debt ($21bn) and equity ($21bn).

And as long as Bitcoin doesn’t crash, I’m sure everything will be okay. Otherwise, I fear it’ll be catastrophic for the company and its shareholders.

The content in this article is provided for information purposes only. It is not intended to be, neither does it constitute, any form of investment advice. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are highly speculative and volatile assets, which carry several risks, including the total loss of any monies invested. Readers are responsible for carrying out their own due diligence and for obtaining professional advice before making any investment decisions.

Leverage

Latest reports suggest that the company currently owns 447,470 Bitcoin, worth approximately $43bn. Its market cap is $84bn — 95% higher.

In other words, investors are happy to pay more for the Bitcoin held by MicroStrategy than if they bought it directly themselves.

To my surprise, this means its share price has outperformed the value of the cryptocurrency over the past 12 months by a factor of four.  

This doesn’t appear sustainable to me.

And it suggests that if the value of Bitcoin falls, the stock market valuation of MicroStrategy will crash by a lot more.

Personally, I don’t want to add this level of risk (or volatility) to my share portfolio. I’m therefore going to steer clear of MicroStrategy, despite the hype surrounding the stock.

The post Hargreaves Lansdown’s clients are buying loads of this US growth stock. Should I? appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

With that in mind, it isn’t surprising to see the company appear on Hargreaves Lansdown’s list of most-bought stocks this month. However, with so much growth under its belt, can the stock price actually climb higher? Here’s what the experts are saying.

A wide range of opinions

Looking at the opinions of the nine institutional analysts following this business, the overall consensus seems to be positive, with either Buy or Outperform ratings issued. However, where opinions start to divulge is in the valuation.

The most optimistic outlook suggests the Microstrategy share price could climb to as high as $600. That’s just shy of a 60% potential gain compared to the current share price. However, on the opposite end of the spectrum, some analysts have placed their 12-month price target to as low as $187.50 – essentially half of where it stands now.

Interestingly, Citron Research, which has been overwhelmingly bullish on Microstrategy for the last four years, has now opened a short position against the stock. Given Citron’s reputation as a largely successful short seller, does this mean the Microstrategy share price has reached its peak?

High risk, high reward                                        

The fate of Microstrategy’s market-cap appears to be almost entirely tied to the performance of Bitcoin. The group’s been using debt to buy the cryptocurrency to generate huge spreads. And the use of leverage is why the stock has vastly outperformed Bitcoin throughout 2024.

Management appears intent to double down on this strategy with a further $42bn earmarked for even more Bitcoin purchases over the next three years. However, the problem is that leverage works both ways. Should the cryptocurrency take a nosedive, the adverse impact on Microstrategy would also be amplified on the way down as it was on the way up.

The content in this article is provided for information purposes only. It is not intended to be, neither does it constitute, any form of investment advice. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are highly speculative and volatile assets, which carry several risks, including the total loss of any monies invested. Readers are responsible for carrying out their own due diligence and for obtaining professional advice before making any investment decisions.

Is it worth the risk?

With the company putting a lot of money behind Bitcoin, management seems to have little control over its fate. After all, its long-term success now seems almost entirely dependent on the value of the cryptocurrency. On the plus side, the incoming Trump administration has promised to be crypto-friendly. But, how much support it actually offers remains unclear.

Combining all these factors likely explains why analyst share price forecasts for Microstrategy seem to be either extremely positive or hopelessly negative. Personally, I’m not interested in adding this coin-flip-like risk exposure to my portfolio. But for more speculative investors comfortable with high levels of volatility, Microstrategy may be worth a closer look.

The post Where might the MicroStrategy share price go in the next 12 months? Here are the latest expert forecasts appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a highly successful company.

Far from its early days as a small software firm, it has recently reimagined itself as an AI-integrated cloud analytics company. However, its growth seems to have materialised more as a result of its focus on digital currency. 

Since 2020, founder Michael Saylor has been accumulating massive reserves of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, exhibiting strong faith in its innovative powers. With Bitcoin surging again this year, MicroStrategy’s share price has followed suit, albeit to a much greater extent. It’s up 461% this year, while Bitcoin has managed only a meagre 116%. Be mindful, past performance is not an indicator of future results.

In fact, MicroStrategy has outshone all other major stocks this year, including big winners like Palantir, Nvidia, and Axon. On a side note, the top-performing FTSE 350 stock this year, CMC Markets, is actually ahead of Nvidia!

But after climbing so rapidly in such a short space of time, is MicroStrategy stock destined to come crashing back down again just like Bitcoin often does? 

The answer lies in MicroStrategy’s macro strategy.

Growth, but at what cost

On paper (or at least, on its website), MicroStrategy is a provider of business intelligence and analytics software. It also has some AI integration and cloud services thrown in for good measure.

It’s not a small or upcoming firm by any means, with customer stories from the likes of Pfizer, Visa, eBay, Sainsbury’s and even TSA (yes, the airport guys who take away your cologne).

But it’s difficult to gauge just how much success the firm would have achieved without Bitcoin. A quick web search seems to suggest the stock is treated as a way to invest in the digital currency without actually getting one’s hands dirty, so to speak. 

But with Bitcoin ETFs now easily available via a multitude of brokers, how long can that selling point last?

If (when) the crypto bubble inevitably bursts, I can’t help but worry that MicroStrategy stock will go down with it. In fact, this already happened once in 2022 — and that wasn’t the first time. The company is no stranger to booms and busts. It found its original fortune during the dot com bubble of 2000, right before losing 99.9% of its value.

Will this time be different?

With net income down 137% in the last earnings call, it doesn’t look promising. The $66.5bn company is currently unprofitable, with a price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 142. It has more debt than equity but holds around $9bn in assets.

However, its latest earnings figures came out before the recent boom. If the company can use this opportunity to redirect some profits back into the core business, it could position itself to maintain long-term growth. 

If it doesn’t do that though, I fear history will simply repeat itself. I like to think it has a more concrete plan this time around – but only time will tell.

The post This skyrocketing US growth stock has put all others to shame — including its core investment! appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

A Bitcoin stock?

The stock I’m talking about is MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR). It’s a US technology company that has been stockpiling Bitcoin in recent years.

At the end of September, the company held 252,220 Bitcoins. At today’s price of $89,000, that stockpile is worth about $22.5bn.

It seems that UK investors are catching on to the fact that MicroStrategy is a play on Bitcoin (and can be held in tax-efficient UK investment accounts). Last week, it was the second most bought stock on Hargreaves Lansdown.

Anyone who bought the stock last week will be laughing today. Yesterday, the stock surged a whopping 26%!

Past performance is not indicative of future results. Also, please note that tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in future. The content in this article is provided for information purposes only. It is not intended to be, neither does it constitute, any form of tax advice. Readers are responsible for carrying out their own due diligence and for obtaining professional advice before making any investment decisions.

The business

Taking a closer look at this organisation, as it’s certainly interesting.

In the past, MicroStrategy was a business intelligence and analytics software company (it still offers these solutions today).

However, in 2020, the CEO at the time, Michael Saylor (who is now executive chairman), decided to start buying Bitcoin.

Today, the company is the largest corporate holder of the crypto-asset globally, and it says it’s the world’s first ‘Bitcoin Treasury Company’.

“Our focus remains to increase value generated to our shareholders by leveraging the digital transformation of capital”, wrote President and CEO Phong Le in the company’s recent Q3 results.

The content in this article is provided for information purposes only. It is not intended to be, neither does it constitute, any form of investment advice. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are highly speculative and volatile assets, which carry several risks, including the total loss of any monies invested. Readers are responsible for carrying out their own due diligence and for obtaining professional advice before making any investment decisions.

High risk

From an investment perspective, however, I see it as high risk.

Right now, the company is not generating any revenue growth. Last quarter, revenue fell 10.3% year on year to $116.1m.

Meanwhile, it is also losing money. Last quarter, it posted a net loss of $340.2m, or $1.72 per share on a diluted basis.

On top of this, the company plans to raise a lot of money in the years ahead to buy more Bitcoin (it plans to raise $42bn over the next three years). This could dilute existing shareholders’ positions.

Of course, if the Bitcoin price continues to surge, the MicroStrategy share price is likely to rise as well. However, there are no guarantees that Bitcoin will continue to rise. And if the Bitcoin price was to slump, the MicroStrategy share price would most likely slump too.

So, investors really need to weigh up risk and reward here before investing.

My view

Personally, I won’t be buying the stock. For me, there are too many variables, and the risk level is too high.

But I can see the appeal of this stock. The fact that it can be held inside a Stocks and Shares ISA or SIPP is a huge plus as one can potentially profit from Bitcoin tax-free.

The post A Bitcoin investment that can be held inside a Stocks and Shares ISA or SIPP appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

However, interestingly, Tesla was also the most sold stock during the week, perhaps indicating that some investors were looking to cash in on the surging shares — the stock jumped 31% last week.

MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) was the second-most bought stock by Hargreaves Lansdown investors who seemingly wanted to US stocks and the ‘Trump Trade’ rather than those closer to home.

So, let’s take a closer look as to why investors might have been interested in these two companies.

Tesla: an ally in The White House

Investors flocked to Tesla shares following Trump’s presidential victory for several key reasons.

Firstly, Musk’s vocal support for Trump may result in the South African billionaire having influence in the incoming presidency. Trump has even suggested Musk could have an efficiency role within the administration.

Secondly, Trump’s proposed policies, including lower corporate taxes and deregulation, are viewed as potentially beneficial for Tesla’s growth and profitability. Additionally, Trump’s stance on tariffs, particularly against Chinese imports, could give Tesla a competitive edge over foreign EV manufacturers in the US market.

Moreover, the potential reduction in EV subsidies under Trump’s administration is also seen as potentially benefiting cash-rich Tesla more than its smaller competitors, given the company’s dominant market position and scale.

Lastly, but potentially most importantly, investors speculated that Musk’s relationship with Trump could lead to advantageous policies for Tesla, particularly in areas like autonomous driving regulations.

This is important because Tesla stock is valued on its potential in the autonomous driving realm and robotics, with a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 100 times — that’s five times higher than EV peers.

Personally, I’d argue that the company is falling behind the likes of Waymo and Chinese peers as its Robotaxi reveal fell somewhat flat.

It’s a very expensive stock, which probably explains why it was also the most sold stock last week by Hargreaves Lansdown investors. It’s also not on my watchlist given the stock’s insane multiples.

MicroStrategy: a Bitcoin play

Investors flocked to MicroStrategy — an American Bitcoin development company — stock last week, driven by a surge in Bitcoin’s price following Trump’s election victory.

Trump’s unexpected pro-crypto stance, including promises to make the US a “crypto capital” and establish a national Bitcoin reserve, ignited enthusiasm in the cryptocurrency market.

This was coupled with a pledge to end the “anti-crypto crusade” and replace SEC Chair Gary Gensler, signalling a potentially more favourable regulatory environment for digital assets.

This shift in Trump’s approach to cryptocurrencies led to Bitcoin soaring above $80,000, directly benefiting MicroStrategy due to its substantial Bitcoin holdings.

The company’s ’21/21 Plan’ will see it invest $42bn in Bitcoin over the next three years and this appears to align well with the market’s renewed optimism for crypto.

It’s an interesting company but I’m still unconvinced by crypto. There’s no P/E ratio as it’s not forecasted to turn a profit this year despite surging crypto holdings. Once again, it’s a stock I’m staying clear of as I prefer more predictable industries.

The post Tesla stock, MicroStrategy: here’s what Hargreaves Lansdown investors bought last week appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

[Just beginning your investing journey? Check out our guide on how to start investing in the UK.]

Enphase Energy

What it does: Enphase is a US solar energy company leading in facilitating the supply and storage of clean energy.

By Oliver Rodzianko. I bought Enphase Energy (NASDAQ:ENPH) stock in March, and I intend to add to my position in April. I consider this a very rare opportunity to buy the shares at a 67% discount from all-time high prices.

The World Economic Forum outlines a potential compound annual growth rate of 20% for solar deployment until 2050. It claims solar to be the fastest growing energy technology in all history.

However, this is a long-term investment, and I think there could be short-term losses before substantial gains.

Also, the company is highly subject to regulatory shifts. Trump getting into the White House in the upcoming election could see negative pressure on US clean energy companies if he shifts attention toward policy favourable to fossil fuels.

Nonetheless, I consider this one of the best investments in my portfolio. I think it’s truly contrarian, and I believe I’m right about the long-term potential here.

Oliver Rodzianko owns shares in Enphase Energy.

MicroStrategy

What it does: MicroStrategy develops mobile and cloud-based software for the provision of business intelligence services.

By Mark David Hartley. MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) shares are up 507% over the past year and 120% this month. CEO Michael Saylor’s bet on blockchain assets seems to be paying off – finally. Many believe such a large investment in a nascent and speculative technology puts the company at high risk, yet he seems happy to take those odds. 

The company became profitable this year for the first time since 2020, with equity that’s increased almost five-fold since March 2023. However, with a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 63.2, the share price is considered heavily overvalued. Some analysts estimate the $1,565 shares to be worth only $388. Others predict a 12-month price target of $1,810.

Opinions on the stock are extremely polarised, with some foreseeing massive gains while others predicting collapse. While I typically err on the side of caution, in this rare case I feel the reward could be worth the risk.

Mark Hartley owns shares in MicroStrategy.

Oddity Tech

What it does: Oddity analyses skin tone and beauty needs through a phone camera and uses machine learning to match consumers with products.

By Ben McPoland. I like the look of Oddity Tech (NASDAQ: ODD) right now. The company operates two fast-growing digital brands: Il Makiage, which sells cosmetics, and SpoiledChild, which focuses on hair and skincare products.

The firm only went public in July 2023 and either or both brands could fall out of fashion as new trends emerge. That’s a risk.

However, Oddity is growing very quickly and is already profitable. In 2023, revenue surged 57% to $509m as the company beat its own guidance in every single quarter. Adjusted EBITDA grew 173% to $107m.

It has collected 2bn data points from over 50m unique customers. From this data, the firm says artificial intelligence produces superior product recommendations versus a human eye. This differs from the beauty industry’s trial-and-error model.

Its proprietary skin health molecule, Fibroquin, showed stronger efficacy than retinol in a clinical trial. Unsurprisingly then, customer reviews are overwhelmingly positive.

Management says both brands are on course for $1bn+ in sales by 2028 and it plans to launch more in different categories.

Trading at 25 times forecast earnings and with a small $2.5bn market cap, I recently bought the stock.

Ben McPoland owns shares in Oddity.  

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