Rothschild & Co Redburn Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price target hoisted by analysts at Rothschild & Co Redburn from $171.00 to $183.00 in a research report issued on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn’s target price indicates a potential downside of 3.26% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on MS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. UBS Group raised Morgan Stanley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $195.00 to $196.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Argus upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $199.67.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $189.17 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $104.78 and a 52-week high of $194.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The company has a market capitalization of $299.16 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.48.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 8,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.08, for a total value of $1,547,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 119,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,690,826.24. This represents a 6.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total value of $3,966,120.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 171,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,464,920. The trade was a 11.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,736,648,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 29.1% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,917,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,648,354,000 after purchasing an additional 3,364,080 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 142.4% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,122,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $511,723,000 after purchasing an additional 1,833,844 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,253,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361,940 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2,332.9% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,406,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $249,710,000 after buying an additional 1,348,683 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and record revenues — MS reported Q1 EPS of $3.43 and $20.58B revenue, with equities trading and investment banking notably strong, which is the core reason for the rally. MS Q1 Deep Dive
• Positive Sentiment: Wealth-management momentum — record Wealth Management revenues, ~$118B net new assets and ~$54B in fee-based flows support recurring-fee outlook and ROE expansion (helps valuation). Morgan Stanley reports 29% surge in Q1 profit
• Positive Sentiment: MSBT Bitcoin ETF traction — Morgan Stanley’s spot bitcoin ETF (MSBT) passed $100M+ inflows in its first week, widening product distribution and adding new fee/asset channels for Wealth clients. MSBT sees sixth straight inflow
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades & capital returns — Multiple firms raised price targets (Bank of America to $225, Evercore to $210, Argus to $225) and the firm repurchased stock + declared a $1.00 quarterly dividend, boosting investor confidence. Price Target Raised to $225 at Bank of America Price Target Raised to $210 at Evercore
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory / capital context — CFO says capital requirements may be flat or modestly lower under pending U.S. capital reform, which could free up capital but also depends on final rule outcomes. Morgan Stanley eyes capital relief
• Neutral Sentiment: Street positioning mixed — some shops reaffirm neutral/market-perform stances even as targets rise, indicating debate over near-term upside vs valuation. Citizens Jmp Market Perform
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and momentum caution — post-earnings rerating has left some calling valuation “hot” and short-term momentum may cool after a heavy run. Valuation concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — disclosures show recent insider sales, which can weigh on sentiment for some traders even after strong results. Quiver: MS insider activity

About Morgan Stanley

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.