Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Morgan Stanley to a "strong‑buy" from "hold", and MarketBeat shows a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average analyst price target of $201.89 (1 Strong Buy, 11 Buy, 11 Hold).
• Quarterly results beat expectations: Morgan Stanley posted Q1 EPS of $3.43 vs. $3.02 expected and revenue of $20.58B vs. $19.23B, with revenue up 16% year‑over‑year and analysts forecasting ~11.8 EPS for the year.
• Insider and institutional activity: Insiders sold 110,444 shares (~$20.7M) in the last 90 days while institutional investors own roughly 84.19% of the stock, including large stakes by Vanguard and Norges Bank.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $171.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $195.00 to $196.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $201.89.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.8%

MS stock opened at $186.85 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $112.03 and a 52-week high of $194.59. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $171.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $172.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $295.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.19.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.89%. The business had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.8 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 110,444 shares of company stock valued at $20,665,049 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $2,736,648,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 29.1% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,917,776 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,648,354,000 after buying an additional 3,364,080 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 142.4% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,122,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $511,723,000 after buying an additional 1,833,844 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $21,253,554,000 after buying an additional 1,361,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2,332.9% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,406,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $249,710,000 after buying an additional 1,348,683 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded Morgan Stanley to a Strong Buy, which supports near‑term investor demand by signaling improved earnings prospects and could attract momentum buyers. Zacks: MS Upgraded to Strong Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Street estimates are drifting higher — some brokers (cited in recent notes) have lifted FY26/FY27 EPS views for MS, supporting the longer‑term earnings story and valuation upside (analysts expect MS to deliver stronger fee and wealth-management income).
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley acted as a joint book‑runner on Avalyn Pharma’s upsized IPO — a reminder that its investment‑banking pipeline and ECM underwriting fees remain active, which is supportive for IB revenue. Avalyn IPO (underwritten by Morgan Stanley)
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Investment Management led an $875M senior debt financing for Bridgepointe Technologies — a sign of deal flow and private‑credit activity inside MS’s asset‑management/private‑credit business. MS Investment Management funds Bridgepointe financing
• Neutral Sentiment: Ongoing analyst and research activity from Morgan Stanley (e.g., sector calls, top‑pick lists) highlights the firm’s visible research platform but has a mixed, indirect impact on MS shares versus direct earnings or macro news. Example: MS research on TRGP
• Negative Sentiment: Key negative driver: Morgan Stanley publicly shifted its call on the timing of Fed rate cuts after the FOMC, saying core inflation looks stickier — that view feeds into higher‑for‑longer rate expectations. Markets often punish financials when interest‑rate uncertainty rises (trading/markets revenue volatility, potential pressure on wealth flows). This macro re‑assessment appears to be the main immediate catalyst for intraday weakness. MarketWatch: MS shifts Fed rate‑cut call

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.

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