Evercore Issues Positive Forecast for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Price

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price objective increased by investment analysts at Evercore from $190.00 to $210.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Evercore’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 9.39% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $197.06.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $191.97 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $104.78 and a one year high of $194.59. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $168.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $170.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $303.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.19.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total transaction of $3,966,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 171,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,464,920. The trade was a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total transaction of $3,691,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 127,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,598,777.60. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,253,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361,940 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 103,854,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,437,334,000 after purchasing an additional 539,544 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,321,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,343,523,000 after acquiring an additional 167,487 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in 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. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,018,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,441,505,000 after acquiring an additional 524,189 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat: MS reported EPS $3.43 on $20.58B revenue, above expectations; equity trading and investment banking were key drivers and wealth management posted strong net new assets — a core reason the stock rallied. Business Wire Q1 Release
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades: Multiple firms raised forecasts/targets after the print (Keefe Bruyette & Woods to $218, BofA to $225 and others), extending upside and supporting buy/ outperform calls. Benzinga: Analyst Price Target Moves
• Positive Sentiment: Capital return & dividend: Firm announced a $1.00 quarterly dividend and repurchased stock in Q1 — signals of cash generation and shareholder returns that strengthen the rally case. QuiverQuant: Q1 Coverage
• Positive Sentiment: New product traction — Bitcoin ETF: MS’s spot Bitcoin trust gathered ~ $100M+ in its first week, showing distribution capability in wealth channels and opening a new fee/revenue stream. Cointelegraph: Bitcoin ETF Inflows
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory/capital outlook: CFO said U.S. capital rule overhaul should leave Morgan Stanley’s requirements flat or modestly lower — a potential structural tailwind if realized but dependent on final rulemaking. Reuters: Capital Relief/Lobbying
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic commentary: Management highlighted tokenization and blockchain as part of wealth‑platform evolution and flagged private‑credit risks — important long‑term themes but not immediate earnings drivers. Bitcoin.com: Tokenization Comments
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and valuation notes: Filings show senior insider sales and some commentators warn valuation is rich after the rally — could cap upside and add short‑term volatility/rotation risk. Seeking Alpha: Valuation Commentary

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.