Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Evercore ISI

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) was downgraded by investment analysts at Evercore ISI from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Evercore lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.93.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS traded up $4.23 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $180.07. The company had a trading volume of 9,132,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,294,743. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $192.68. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $180.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The stock has a market cap of $286.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 14.09%.The company’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.77, for a total transaction of $2,942,225.26. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 135,304 shares in the company, valued at $25,135,424.08. The trade was a 10.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total value of $5,569,194.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 280,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,501,921.22. This trade represents a 9.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MS. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1,855.6% during the fourth quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 645.8% during the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Q4 / advisory rebound — recent coverage highlights Morgan Stanley’s strong Q4 2025 results and a rebound in investment-banking activity, which supports a higher valuation and underpins the stock’s rally. Morgan Stanley Valuation Check After Strong Q4 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Top league-table performance in power M&A — Morgan Stanley ranked #1 in power M&A advisory in 2025, signalling strength in fee pools and deal flow that can sustain investment-banking revenue. Morgan Stanley tops power M&A financial advisory in 2025
• Positive Sentiment: Small institutional buying reported — a recent 13F/ownership filing shows a fund (Linscomb Wealth) added ~2,966 MS shares, a modest vote of confidence from an institutional holder. While a small position, buys can help sentiment intraday. Linscomb Wealth Inc. Purchases 2,966 Shares of Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector/regulatory backdrop — Reuters reports banks expanded Washington lobbying last year as policy fights heat up; this raises regulatory attention on large banks (including MS) but is a sector-level factor rather than company-specific. Big US banks boost Washington lobbying muscle as policy fights heat up
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate/community activity — Morgan Stanley is hosting its Go Red Women’s Leadership event; positive for ESG/WM brand but not a material earnings driver. Morgan Stanley to Host 17th Annual Go Red Women’s Leadership Event
• Neutral Sentiment: Portfolio moves: Morgan Stanley reduced its position in an Australia-listed RPMGlobal, and filed notices showing changes in other holdings; such portfolio shifts are routine and generally neutral to MS’s own share price. Morgan Stanley Ceases to Be Substantial Holder in RPMGlobal
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade — Evercore ISI cut Morgan Stanley from “strong-buy” to “hold,” which can weigh on sentiment and cap upside from some institutional/quant strategies that follow analyst gradings. Evercore ISI downgrades Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company’s chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm’s primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.