Tech company Microsoft (MSFT 0.66%) initiated a round of layoffs on Monday, just after the company's new fiscal year started. The news is interesting following a surge in the prices of many tech stocks, evidenced by the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite's 31 % year to date gain. Microsoft's gains have been even stronger, with shares rising an incredible 39%. Could Microsoft's latest round of layoffs suggest that hype in the sector has gone too far?

Overall, investors would be wise to refrain from giving the company's latest layoffs too much weight. But given how staggering returns have been in tech this year, it's worth considering what Microsoft is saying about these layoffs.

1 reason to dismiss this news

News broke early this week that Microsoft is cutting jobs. While it's not certain how many jobs were wrapped up in total, a filing in Washington did reveal that the company is eliminating at least 276 jobs in the state. 

Investors shouldn't be too concerned about these layoffs mainly because of the statement a Microsoft spokesperson is providing the media.

"Organizational and workforce adjustments are a necessary and regular part of managing our business," the spokesperson told multiple media outlets. "We will continue to prioritize and invest in strategic growth areas for our future and in support of our customers and partners."

In other words, a few hundred layoffs are largely business as usual. For context, the number pales compared to the approximately 10,000 jobs Microsoft eliminated last year. Though last year's job cuts were part of a concerted effort by the company to reduce costs significantly.

1 reason to be cautious

While Microsoft's explanation for the layoffs does seem legitimate, there's one reason for investors to at least consider it as a reason to be cautious about the stock: In Microsoft's most recent earnings call, CEO Satya Nadella noted that its customers continued to execute optimizations, or an effort to reduce cloud computing spend. Perhaps more job cuts suggest these optimizations continued into recent months as well. 

While news like this is usually worth glossing over, Microsoft stock's high valuation means expectations for the company are sky-high. So, in light of this news, therefore, investors considering buying shares may want to wait for the company's next quarterly report to glean insight into whether or not a tough macroeconomic environment is weighing on the company more than anticipated. After all, nothing is wrong with being patient and waiting for a potentially more attractive entry point into the stock anyway.

As far as this news relates to investors who already own the stock, it's arguably too small to make a difference. If investors believed shares were worth holding onto before this news, they should probably continue doing so now. Similarly, while shares are expensive, they haven't become egregiously overvalued. For this reason, it may make sense to save any selling for if the stock soars to levels that become impossible to justify.

Investors can get an update on Microsoft's business when the company reports earnings after the market closes on July 25.