UBS Group Cuts MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) Price Target to $575.00

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) had its price objective lowered by equities researchers at UBS Group from $700.00 to $575.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the technology company’s stock. UBS Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 22.69% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on MSCI. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of MSCI from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $613.00 to $569.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $638.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Barclays reduced their price objective on MSCI from $700.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of MSCI in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of MSCI from $615.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $562.87.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSCI traded up $22.65 on Wednesday, hitting $468.65. 1,422,701 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 518,224. MSCI has a 1-year low of $439.95 and a 1-year high of $617.39. The company has a market capitalization of $37.13 billion, a PE ratio of 32.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $547.91 and its 200 day moving average is $539.08.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $3.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.08. MSCI had a net margin of 45.42% and a negative return on equity of 111.17%. The company had revenue of $680.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $685.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that MSCI will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its position in MSCI by 426.0% during the first quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 1,094 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $613,000 after acquiring an additional 886 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of MSCI by 29.0% in the first quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 512 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of MSCI by 4.9% during the first quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 8,659 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,853,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 25.9% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 1,394 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $781,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Finally, Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in MSCI in the first quarter valued at $2,386,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

About MSCI

MSCI Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides critical decision support tools and solutions for the investment community to manage investment processes worldwide. The Index segment provides indexes for use in various areas of the investment process, including indexed financial product, such as ETFs, mutual funds, annuities, futures, options, structured products, and over-the-counter derivatives; performance benchmarking; portfolio construction and rebalancing; and asset allocation, as well as licenses GICS and GICS Direct.