MicroStrategy raised another $600 million from preferred stock sales to buy bitcoin

By Tomi Kilgore and Claudia AssisMicroStrategy has spent nearly half of a planned $42 billion raise to buy bitcoin since the end of OctoberStrategy Inc., formerly known as MicroStrategy Inc., said late Wednesday it has raised an additional $584 million through the sale of preferred stock, and it confirmed it is about halfway through its three-year plan of buying $42 billion in the cryptocurrency.Strategy's (MSTR) $20.5 billion worth of bitcoin bought since the end of the third quarter was its "largest ever" bump in quarterly holdings of the cryptocurrency, the company said."We carried this strong momentum forward" into the first quarter, Chief Financial Officer Andrew Kang said, raising the additional $584 million offering, which was supported by both institutional and retail investors.The stock rose 0.5% in Wednesday's after-hours session, after closing the regular session down 3.3% at $336.70.The company, which announced its name change earlier Wednesday, is for most investors a bitcoin play.In its last earnings report, MicroStrategy (MSTR) stunned investors by announcing a plan to raise $42 billion over the next three years, through the sale of common stock and debt, so that it could buy bitcoin (BTCUSD).In just three months, the company has already completed nearly half of its three-year plan, as it spent $20.5 billion to buy 218,887 bitcoins from Oct. 31 through Jan. 26.Read: MicroStrategy is still loading up on bitcoin, but the pace of buying is slowing.As Mizuho analyst Dan Dolev wrote in a recent note to clients, while bitcoin itself has no intrinsic value, increasing global adoption of the digital currency, a slow rate of bitcoin supply growth and a favorable political environment suggest bitcoin prices will continue to rise.Also read: Trump vows to build U.S. bitcoin reserve. Crypto community is cheering.And MicroStrategy's stock needs a boost. While the stock closed Wednesday about 36% above where it closed before the company's last earnings report, it has stalled in the last couple months, and has lost about 29% below its postearnings, postelection record close of $473.83 on Nov. 20.Meanwhile, bitcoin didn't peak until Dec. 17, when it hit an all-time high of $109,224, and was recently trading about 11% below that peak.In the company's last disclosure, it said it had spent a total of about $30.4 billion to buy 471,107 bitcoins, at an average price of $64,511 per bitcoin. At current prices, that holding would be worth roughly $45.6 billion.As for MicroStrategy's software business, which Mizuho's Dolev said was a nearly "inconsequential portion" of its valuation, the company reported revenue of $120.7 million, a 3% drop year-over-year, including subscription services revenues of $31.9 million, a 48.4% jump year-over-year.Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected revenue of $122.4 million.The company also reported a net loss was $670.8 million, or $3.03 a share, swinging from earnings of 50 cents a share in the fourth quarter of 2023. FactSet consensus called for a loss of 9 cents a share.-Tomi Kilgore -Claudia AssisThis content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.