BMO Capital Markets Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Price

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets lowered Morgan Stanley’s price target from $215 to $210 while maintaining an “outperform” rating, implying 17.13% potential upside from the previous close.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Morgan Stanley has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $214.62, with recent target reductions from Citigroup and RBC offset by upgrades elsewhere.
• Morgan Stanley exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $3.03 EPS and $20.34 billion in revenue, while its board authorized a $20 billion share-buyback program.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $215.00 to $210.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the financial services provider's stock. BMO Capital Markets' price target indicates a potential upside of 17.13% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $243.00 to $195.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. HSBC raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Morgan Stanley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.62.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS traded down $1.28 during trading on Monday, reaching $179.29. The company had a trading volume of 1,704,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,168,747. The company has a fifty day moving average of $204.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $203.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $282.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $152.80 and a 12 month high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.10. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 19.40%. The company had revenue of $20.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.80 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to buy back $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MS. Crown Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Hughes Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 137 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 35.7% in the 2nd quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 194 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the second quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 8,245 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,724,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Bank OZK grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.0% in the second quarter. Bank OZK now owns 1,815 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings of $3.03 per share versus the $2.93 consensus estimate and revenue of $20.34 billion versus $19.93 billion expected. Revenue increased 11.6% year over year, while return on equity reached 19.4%. Is Most-Watched Stock Morgan Stanley Worth Betting on Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlights Morgan Stanley’s strong net inflows, a 15% dividend increase and share repurchases averaging approximately $212 per share. These trends may support the stock by signaling confidence in cash generation and shareholder returns, although the figures come from secondary commentary. Morgan Stanley Earnings and Dividends
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley strategist Michael Wilson said the recent equity-market pullback may be nearing an end and advised investors to prepare to add risk. A more constructive market environment could benefit the firm’s investment-banking, asset-management and wealth-management businesses. Morgan Stanley’s Wilson Says Get Ready to Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinions remain mixed: JPMorgan increased its price target for Morgan Stanley, while other coverage describes analysts as conflicted on the financial-services sector. This creates uncertainty about near-term valuation support. Morgan Stanley Stock Gets Price Target Increase from JPMorgan
• Negative Sentiment: The stock’s decline reflects broader risk-off pressure and investor concerns about market valuations. Morgan Stanley’s beta of 1.22 means it can be particularly sensitive to equity-market pullbacks, even when company-specific results are strong. The S&P 500 Is Masking a Hidden Market Pullback

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley NYSE: MS is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, institutions, governments and individual investors. Founded in 1935, the company is headquartered in New York City and serves clients through operations across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other international markets.

Through its Institutional Securities segment, Morgan Stanley offers investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales and trading, research, lending and related capital-markets services.

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