Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Upgraded to "Buy" at Erste Group Bank

Key Points

• Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" to a "buy"; however, analysts remain split (11 Buys, 12 Holds) with a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Hold" and a $201.89 consensus price target.
• Morgan Stanley beat Q1 estimates, reporting $3.43 EPS vs. $3.02 expected and $20.58 billion in revenue (up 16% YoY), while the stock traded around $188.75.
• Insiders have been selling recently—110,444 shares (~$20.7 million) sold in the past three months, including large sales by Eric F. Grossman and Andrew M. Saperstein, leaving insiders with just 0.17% ownership.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Erste Group Bank from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Monday.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on MS. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research lowered Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $207.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $171.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $201.89.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of MS traded up $0.68 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $188.75. 325,489 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,159,173. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The firm has a market cap of $298.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.11, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.19. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $170.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $172.01. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $112.03 and a 12-month high of $194.59.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.89%. The company's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 110,444 shares of company stock valued at $20,665,049 in the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 40.1% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 29,744 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,281,000 after purchasing an additional 8,512 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 103.1% in the third quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 12,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,019,000 after purchasing an additional 6,448 shares during the period. Donaldson Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 9,056 shares during the period. ABN Amro Investment Solutions increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 52.6% in the 3rd quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 113,504 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $18,043,000 after acquiring an additional 39,104 shares during the period. Finally, A4 Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $855,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley told clients pullbacks are likely to be shallow because earnings, capex and AI adoption are creating momentum — a bullish macro view that supports higher AUM, trading volumes and M&A activity. Why Morgan Stanley sees little possibility of a stock-market retreat
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is expanding its crypto product lineup — its MSBT spot-Bitcoin ETF is gaining traction and the firm has launched a stablecoin reserve money-market fund — moves that can generate new fee streams and deepen institutional relationships. Bitcoin ETF: Three Reasons Morgan Stanley’s MSBT Could Overtake BlackRock’s IBIT BTC ETF Morgan Stanley Adds Stablecoin Fund After Bitcoin ETF Launch Morgan Stanley Introduces Stablecoin Reserve focused Money Market Fund
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research finds AI is boosting productivity rather than cutting jobs — a thesis that supports higher corporate capex and investment-banking activity (buybacks, M&A, advisory) over time. AI is boosting output rather than cutting jobs: analyst
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley continues active coverage and target revisions across sectors (e.g., Corning, Jet2, Brookfield), showing ongoing analyst involvement that influences client flows but is mixed in immediate impact. Corning Incorporated (GLW) Receives Rating Updates From BofA and Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley issues blunt take on Tesla stock after earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley trimmed a price target on NRG amid sector revisions — a routine analyst update that has limited direct effect on MS’s own fundamentals but may reflect sector headwinds clients face. Morgan Stanley Cuts NRG Price Target amid Sector Revisions
• Negative Sentiment: Rising geopolitical oil risk — analysts including Goldman, Citi and Morgan Stanley have revised crude forecasts higher if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed — a scenario that could increase market volatility and pressure MS trading desks and risk positions. Oil Could Hit $150 Per Barrel If Hormuz Strait Remains Closed, Citi Warns

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.