Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Price Target Raised at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its target price boosted by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $195.00 to $198.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 8.09% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. HSBC raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Freedom Capital upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Oppenheimer lowered Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 target price (down from $250.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.86.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock traded up $1.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $183.18. The company had a trading volume of 1,558,824 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,170,043. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $205.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $203.64. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $152.80 and a 1 year high of $232.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $288.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $20.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.93 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.40% and a net margin of 15.63%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.80 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.66 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to buy back $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Share repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 143.4% in the second quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.7% during the second quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayban boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 72.5% during the first quarter. Bayban now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. 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: Q3 earnings exceeded expectations: Morgan Stanley reported adjusted EPS of $3.03 versus the $2.93 consensus and revenue of $20.34 billion versus estimates of $19.93 billion. Revenue increased 11.6% year over year. Morgan Stanley Beats on Earnings, But Shares Fall on Trading Mix
• Positive Sentiment: Wealth management delivered a record quarter: Net revenue reached approximately $9.1 billion, while record assets, strong net new assets and IPO-related inflows reinforced the stability of Morgan Stanley’s recurring wealth platform.
• Positive Sentiment: Equities trading was particularly strong: Equity revenue surged roughly 41% year over year, offsetting weaker fixed-income trading conditions as market volatility and higher Treasury yields reduced bond-market activity. Wall Street banks’ bond trading revenue hit by market volatility, equities shine
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability remained resilient: Return on tangible common equity stayed above 20% for a fifth consecutive quarter, and Morgan Stanley declared a quarterly dividend of $1.15 per share, equivalent to a 2.5% annualized yield.
• Neutral Sentiment: Growth is concentrated in market-sensitive businesses: The earnings strength was led by equities and investment-banking activity, making results more dependent on market conditions than the headline beat alone suggests. Management is also highlighting longer-term opportunities in AI financing and advisory services.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors questioned the earnings mix and profitability: Trading-driven gains and rising costs overshadowed the strong wealth-management performance, prompting concern that some of the quarter’s outperformance may be less recurring.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts lowered price targets: Citigroup cut its target from $210 to $190 with a neutral rating, while TD Cowen reduced its target to $205 and KBW lowered its target to $230, signaling more limited near-term upside after the results.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm serving corporations, governments, financial institutions, individuals and other investors. The company provides investment banking and advisory services, including mergers and acquisitions advice, equity and debt underwriting, securities sales and trading, and corporate lending.

Through its Wealth Management business, Morgan Stanley offers financial planning, brokerage, investment advisory and banking services to individual investors, businesses and institutions.