Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target Cut to $175.00 by Analysts at Daiwa Securities Group

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its target price reduced by research analysts at Daiwa Securities Group from $187.00 to $175.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Daiwa Securities Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 5.71% from the stock’s previous close.

MS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $189.94.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $165.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $262.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.22, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $168.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.47. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $97.89 and a 1 year high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 8,500 shares of the firm’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 directly owned 119,128 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,690,826.24. This trade represents a 6.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 171,005 shares in the company, valued at $31,464,920. The trade was a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506 in the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MS. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 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.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: UBS upgraded Morgan Stanley from Neutral to Buy and set a $196 price target (~18% above the current $166 level), giving the stock a clear target-driven lift from a major bank analyst (upgrade announced this morning).
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies says Morgan Stanley should benefit from a trading boom and steady dealmaking, raising expectations for strong Q1 results—this supports investor expectations for fee and trading revenue upside. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley seen riding trading boom (Jefferies)
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised its MS price target to $186 (from $172) while keeping a Neutral rating—this is incremental support for the stock’s upside case. Goldman Sachs raises MS target
• Neutral Sentiment: Roundup coverage / analyst call lists (market pre-open note) included MS among top Wall Street research calls today—visibility that can increase short-term flows but is not a direct buy/sell catalyst. Top Wall Street analyst calls (247wallst)
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research commentary (e.g., on oil markets and broader market strategy) signals active research flow and macro views from the firm—helps positioning but is not an immediate driver of MS shares. Brent oil commentary (Financial Post)
• Negative Sentiment: Evercore and BMO trimmed Morgan Stanley price targets from $215 to $190 (both still Outperform), which reduces the upside implied by some sell‑side models and can weigh on sentiment. Evercore lowers MS target BMO lowers MS target
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is launching private-credit/interval fund initiatives even as the private‑credit space faces liquidity stress and investor outflows—raising execution and fundraising risk for new non‑traded products. Coverage flagged investor flight from parts of private credit, which could pressure fee growth if fundraising is weak. MS private credit fund plans (WealthManagement)

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.