Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

by · The Cerbat Gem

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $211.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.93.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 2.2%

MS stock traded down $4.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $179.02. 8,531,525 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,574,998. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $192.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $284.52 billion, a PE ratio of 17.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $176.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $161.04.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 14.09%.The company had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.77, for a total value of $2,942,225.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 135,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,135,424.08. This represents a 10.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 8,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.08, for a total transaction of $1,547,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 196,223 shares of company stock worth $34,150,220. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 645.8% in the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 65.2% in the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

  • Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was named one of the lead banks on the highly visible SpaceX IPO, which should generate sizable investment‑banking fees and boost confidence in MS’s deal pipeline. Elon Musk’s SpaceX lines up 4 banks for blockbuster IPO
  • Positive Sentiment: Q4 fundamentals remain supportive — MS recently beat on EPS and revenue, announced a $1.00 quarterly dividend (ex‑div Jan 30), and has strong ROE metrics cited by analysts; those fundamentals underpin longer‑term investor support. Morgan Stanley stock page / Q4 results & dividend
  • Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Wealth Management staff publicly urged clients not to panic‑sell, messaging designed to stabilize flows and sentiment among retail/wealth clients. That communication can help limit outflows and calm short‑term volatility. ‘Don’t Get Off the Rodeo Bull’: Morgan Stanley Warns Investors Not to Panic Sell
  • Neutral Sentiment: Research action from MS — the firm cut Oracle’s target ~30% citing AI infra concerns. This is a research call on a large tech name (shows MS positioning/opinion) but is not a direct company fundamental change for MS itself. Oracle target cut by Morgan Stanley
  • Negative Sentiment: Multiple senior Morgan Stanley insiders filed Form 4s this week (large sales by executives including Michael Pizzi, Andrew Saperstein, Eric Grossman, Sharon Yeshaya and others). Concentrated insider selling can add short‑term supply and raise investor caution. Insider sale SEC filing (example)

About Morgan Stanley

(Get Free Report)

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.

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