Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target Raised to $175.00

Key Points

• Evercore ISI has raised Morgan Stanley's price target from $165.00 to $175.00, signaling a potential upside of 6.63% from its last close.
• Analysts have expressed a predominantly positive sentiment towards Morgan Stanley, with two analysts rating it as a Strong Buy and an overall consensus rating of Moderate Buy.
• Morgan Stanley's recent quarterly earnings beat expectations, reporting $2.80 earnings per share and revenues of $18.22 billion, showcasing an 18.5% increase from the previous year.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by analysts at Evercore ISI from $165.00 to $175.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Evercore ISI's price target would indicate a potential upside of 6.63% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on MS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $163.69.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded up $1.48 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $164.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,688,143 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,403,807. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $166.77. The company has a market capitalization of $262.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.32. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $152.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $136.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The firm had revenue of $18.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 111.0% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 645.8% during the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It operates through Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments.

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