Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Dbs Bank Analyst Says

Key Points

• Dbs Bank raised its price target to $220 (from $185), implying roughly a 14% upside from the stock's current level.
• Morgan Stanley beat Q1 expectations, reporting $3.43 EPS vs. $3.02 expected and revenue of $20.58B (up 16% year‑over‑year), which has prompted analyst estimate upgrades.
• Analyst sentiment is positive overall — a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $205 consensus price target — and the stock is trading near its 52‑week high (~$193) with a market cap around $304 billion.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by research analysts at Dbs Bank from $185.00 to $220.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. Dbs Bank's target price points to a potential upside of 14.13% from the stock's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $205.00.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS traded up $2.59 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $192.76. 993,999 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,941,204. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $172.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.64. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $121.46 and a 52-week high of $194.83. The company has a market capitalization of $304.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.46, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 in the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 40.1% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 29,744 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,281,000 after buying an additional 8,512 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 103.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 12,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,019,000 after acquiring an additional 6,448 shares during the period. Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 467,246 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $74,273,000 after purchasing an additional 9,056 shares in the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 52.6% in the third quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 113,504 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $18,043,000 after purchasing an additional 39,104 shares during the period. Finally, A4 Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth $855,000. 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 reported results that exceeded expectations and the consensus has moved up after the print — investors are pricing better-than-expected trading and wealth-management performance into MS. Results: Morgan Stanley Exceeded Expectations And The Consensus Has Updated Its Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street is lifting valuations: UBS raised its price target on Morgan Stanley (coverage note summarized publicly), and other shops have nudged estimates — analyst upgrades support additional buying. UBS Adjusts Morgan Stanley Price Target to $214
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley has begun piloting cryptocurrency trading on E*Trade at lower fees (0.5%), undercutting major retail rivals — this could add new retail trading volumes and convert E*Trade client flows into fee revenue as the rollout scales to ~8.6M accounts. Morgan Stanley Pilots Crypto Trading on E*Trade Platform
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts/estimates continue to be refined: Erste Group nudged FY‑2027 EPS slightly higher for MS — incremental forecast upgrades tend to support the stock but are modest in magnitude. Erste Group upped FY2027 earnings estimates for Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: Firm research and surveys (Morgan Stanley client/industry work) continue to position the bank as a thought leader; useful for franchise value but not an immediate P&L driver. Morgan Stanley Survey Finds Founders Managing More Complex Tradeoffs
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley lost a ~$1.5B Pennsylvania wealth team to Wells Fargo — a client/team departure can reduce AUM and fees in the near term and highlights competitive pressure in wealth recruitment. Wells Fargo Hires $1.5 Billion Pennsylvania Team From Morgan Stanley

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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