MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) Now Covered by Analysts at Bank of America

by · The Markets Daily

Equities researchers at Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of MSCI (NYSE:MSCI – Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Tuesday. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $700.00 price target on the technology company’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 33.03% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on MSCI. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of MSCI from $590.00 to $618.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $715.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $690.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, UBS Group set a $638.00 price objective on MSCI in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSCI currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $671.78.

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MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI stock opened at $526.21 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $38.66 billion, a PE ratio of 33.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $572.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $565.74. MSCI has a one year low of $486.73 and a one year high of $626.28.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.62 by $0.04. MSCI had a net margin of 38.36% and a negative return on equity of 82.59%. The firm had revenue of $822.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $819.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MSCI will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, October 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase up to 7.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In related news, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.00, for a total value of $247,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 21,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,901,450. This trade represents a 2.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Robert J. Gutowski sold 624 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.42, for a total value of $348,454.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 15,945 shares in the company, valued at $8,904,006.90. This trade represents a 3.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,520,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $448,000. 71 West Capital Partners purchased a new position in shares of MSCI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $306,000. Silvant Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of MSCI by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Silvant Capital Management LLC now owns 12,631 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,247,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, USS Investment Management Ltd raised its position in shares of MSCI by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 13,371 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,673,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Company Profile

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MSCI Inc is a global provider of investment decision support tools and services for the financial industry. The company is best known for its family of market indexes, which are widely used as benchmarks by asset managers and as the basis for exchange-traded funds and other passive products. In addition to index construction and licensing, MSCI offers portfolio analytics, risk models, factor and performance attribution tools, and a suite of data and technology solutions designed to support portfolio management and trading.

Beyond traditional indexing and risk analytics, MSCI has expanded into environmental, social and governance (ESG) research and ratings, offering data, scores and screening tools that help investors integrate sustainability considerations into investment processes.

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