Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating restated by Zacks in a report issued on Monday. They currently have a $24.00 target price on the stock.

Zacks‘ analyst wrote, “Morgan Stanley’s fourth-quarter 2012 earnings marginally surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Results primarily benefited from top-line growth, partially offset by continued high operating expenses. Further, increase in net revenue across all segments was the tailwind for the quarter. We believe that the restructuring initiatives as well as organic and inorganic expansion strategies will continue to be significant growth drivers going forward. Yet, there are concerns related to the possibility of the company’s financials being marred by new capital requirements, elevated costs and intense pricing competition. Nevertheless, based on its existing capital strength, the company cleared the stress test similar to last year. Hence, there remains a chance of meaningful capital deployment going forward.”

Morgan Stanley traded up 0.30% on Monday, hitting $23.10. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $12.26 and a 1-year high of $24.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average is currently $23.02. The company’s market cap is $45.305 billion.

Morgan Stanley last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 18th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the analysts’ consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.00 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.14) earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post $2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Analysts at TheStreet reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note to investors on Thursday. Separately, analysts at RBC Capital reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note to investors on Tuesday, March 5th. They now have a $23.00 price target on the stock. Finally, analysts at HSBC upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note to investors on Friday, February 22nd. They now have a $25.00 price target on the stock.

Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, three have given an overweight rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, and one has issued an underweight rating to the stock. The company has a consensus rating of “overweight” and a consensus target price of $24.85.

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services company that, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, provides its products and services to a range of clients and customers, including corporations, governments, financial institutions and individuals.

To view Zacks’ full report, visit www.zacks.com

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