Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Downgraded by Erste Group Bank to “Hold”

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) was downgraded by research analysts at Erste Group Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Friday, Zacks reports.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on MS. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Morgan Stanley from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, HSBC increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.75.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $202.57 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $319.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.38, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $214.30 and its 200 day moving average is $199.31. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $151.84 and a 1 year high of $232.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.31%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 12.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at about $78,825,883,310. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 103,854,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,437,334,000 after purchasing an additional 539,544 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,070,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,786,350,000 after purchasing an additional 534,708 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,018,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,441,505,000 after buying an additional 524,189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,736,648,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Technical support and improving estimates: A recent hammer chart pattern suggests buyers may be defending the stock after its pullback, while upward revisions to earnings estimates could support a near-term rebound. Why Morgan Stanley Looks Ripe for Bottom Fishing
• Positive Sentiment: New Canadian advisory mandate: Morgan Stanley and CIBC were selected to advise on the sale of Canadian airport concessions. The transactions are expected to raise tens of billions of dollars, highlighting Morgan Stanley’s ability to win sizable government-related investment-banking assignments. Morgan Stanley and CIBC Win Canadian Airport Concessions Mandate
• Positive Sentiment: Strong deal pipeline and advisory revenue potential: Morgan Stanley is reportedly among the brokerages positioned to earn fees from upcoming high-profile offerings, including a potential Anthropic IPO. The firm and Goldman Sachs reportedly generated about $100 million each in fees from the SpaceX IPO, underscoring the earnings leverage from a robust equity-capital-markets environment. Anthropic IPO and Brokerage Fees
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor focus remains elevated: Morgan Stanley has been a heavily watched stock, with coverage emphasizing its established wealth-management, trading, and investment-banking franchises. This visibility may increase trading interest but does not represent a new fundamental catalyst. Morgan Stanley Is a Trending Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Higher advisor compensation thresholds: Morgan Stanley’s 2027 advisor compensation plan raises certain production thresholds. Although the changes follow common brokerage-industry practices, investors may weigh whether they could increase compensation costs or pressure margins if advisors require greater payouts to retain and grow business. Morgan Stanley Raises the Bar for Financial Advisor Compensation

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services. The company serves corporations, governments, financial institutions, individuals and institutional investors through a range of advisory, capital-raising, trading and investment-related activities.

Morgan Stanley’s Institutional Securities business offers investment banking services, including mergers and acquisitions advice, underwriting and capital markets services.