TD Cowen Begins Coverage on Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Key Points

• TD Cowen initiated coverage of Morgan Stanley with a “hold” rating and a $210 price target, implying approximately 10.7% upside from the previous close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive but mixed: Morgan Stanley has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $219.43, alongside 13 hold ratings.
• Morgan Stanley recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, while its board authorized a $20 billion share buyback covering up to 5.6% of outstanding shares.

Stock analysts at TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm set a "hold" rating and a $210.00 price target on the financial services provider's stock. TD Cowen's target price points to a potential upside of 10.72% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on MS. Zacks Research lowered Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $219.43.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS opened at $189.67 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $151.84 and a 1 year high of $232.25. The business's fifty day moving average is $208.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $202.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $299.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. The business had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 15.65%.The company's revenue was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MS. Crown Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.2% during the second quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 35.7% during the 2nd quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 194 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 8,245 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Bank OZK grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank OZK now owns 1,815 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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: Jim Cramer endorsed Morgan Stanley as a buy after its pullback, citing the company’s share-repurchase authorization and confidence in CEO Ted Pick’s strategy. Jim Cramer Backs Morgan Stanley After Its Pullback
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is proposing to convert eight Eaton Vance municipal-bond mutual funds, with nearly $10 billion in assets, into ETFs. The move could improve product flexibility and strengthen the firm’s position in the growing ETF market, although shareholder approval is required. Morgan Stanley Plans Municipal Fund ETF Conversions
• Positive Sentiment: The firm was selected as a joint lead manager for the United Kingdom’s planned digitally native government bond, providing potential underwriting, distribution and investor-engagement revenue while expanding its digital-assets credentials. UK Names Banks for Digital Government Bond
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains broadly constructive, with Morgan Stanley receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target near $219.90, implying meaningful upside from the current trading level. However, the consensus includes a sizable number of hold ratings.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary highlights Morgan Stanley’s integrated investment-banking, wealth-management and asset-management model as a potential long-term earnings driver as deal activity recovers and client assets expand. Can Morgan Stanley’s Integrated Model Drive Long-Term Earnings Growth?
• Negative Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets lowered its Morgan Stanley price target from $250 to $215 while maintaining an “Outperform” rating. The reduced target signals more limited near-term upside and likely contributed to the stock’s weakness. BMO Cuts Morgan Stanley Price Target
• Negative Sentiment: A Zacks preview said Morgan Stanley does not currently have the combination of earnings and estimate-revision signals typically associated with a likely quarterly earnings beat, increasing investor caution before results. Morgan Stanley Earnings Expected to Grow

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.

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