Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its target price lifted by research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $202.00 to $210.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 9.92% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $157.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Three investment 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.46.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $191.04 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $303.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.59, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.20. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $192.16. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $174.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $159.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.40%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total transaction of $16,434,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. The trade was a 14.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 65.2% during the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat and dealmaking strength — Morgan Stanley reported $2.68 EPS for Q4 (above estimates) with year‑over‑year revenue growth and a ~47% jump in investment‑banking fees, fueling the rally. Morgan Stanley Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025
• Positive Sentiment: Declared quarterly dividend — MS announced a $1.00 quarterly dividend (record Jan. 30, payable Feb. 13), which supports income investors and signals management comfort with capital generation. (Company release cited above.)
• Positive Sentiment: Broader sector tailwind and continued deal pipeline — Wall Street peers also reported strong results and Morgan Stanley said it expects more IPOs and a larger deal backlog for 2026, underpinning forward revenue opportunities. Morgan Stanley profit jumps on investment banking revival
• Neutral Sentiment: Market/ETF flows and peer moves are amplifying moves — Financial ETFs and big‑bank names (Goldman, JPM) have been lifting the group, which magnifies MS’s share move but can reverse on group rotation. Big Banks Power Up: JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley Strengthen Financial ETFs
• Negative Sentiment: Cash‑flow and metric nuance — Third‑party summaries flagged a large negative swing in operating cash flow in Q4 and some metric discrepancies (cash generation and certain liability increases), which investors may watch as a near‑term risk. Morgan Stanley (MS) Releases Q4 2025 Earnings: EPS Beats, Revenue Misses; Operating Cash Flow Turns Deeply Negative
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling noted — SEC/filing summaries show multiple insider sales in recent months; while not uncommon at large firms, continued insider selling can be read negatively by some investors. QuiverQuant: MS earnings & insider notes

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.