Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Freedom Capital

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) was upgraded by equities researchers at Freedom Capital from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on MS. Barclays boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. HSBC lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. CICC Research raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $220.80.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $215.27 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $136.17 and a 1-year high of $232.25. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $211.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $188.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $339.54 billion, a PE ratio of 17.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 15.65%.The firm had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 12.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total value of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MS. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 143.4% during the second quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reported blockbuster Q2 2026 results, with record net revenues of about $21.3 billion and earnings that beat expectations, reinforcing confidence in the company’s core businesses. Morgan Stanley (MS) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Highlights: Record Revenues and Strategic Growth …
• Positive Sentiment: The board declared a quarterly dividend of $1.15 per share, a 15% increase from the prior quarter, which signals confidence in earnings power and capital return capacity.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts turned more constructive after the earnings release, with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raising its price target to $250 and Erste Group lifting FY2027 EPS estimates, suggesting more upside may remain. Morgan Stanley had its price target raised by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $225.00 to $250.00
• Neutral Sentiment: New reports also pointed to Morgan Stanley’s E*TRADE crypto rollout and AI-related market activity, which could help broaden its platform appeal over time but are not likely the main short-term drivers of the stock move.
• Negative Sentiment: Some articles noted a downgrade-style view from Seeking Alpha and a JPMorgan target below the current share price, which may temper enthusiasm at the margin even after the strong earnings beat. Morgan Stanley Maintains Hold on Comstock Resources, Keeps Price Target Unchanged at $16 Amid Cash Outspend and Funding Concerns

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.