Rothschild & Co Redburn Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock

Key Points

• Rothschild & Co Redburn raised its price target on Morgan Stanley to $195 from $183, while keeping a neutral rating on the stock.
• Other analysts have also lifted targets recently, and Morgan Stanley now has a consensus Moderate Buy rating with an average price target of $209.50.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results and its board approved a $20 billion share repurchase program, signaling confidence in capital returns.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by investment analysts at Rothschild & Co Redburn from $183.00 to $195.00 in a report issued on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn's price target suggests a potential downside of 12.36% from the company's current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on MS. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $179.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $209.50.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS traded up $2.63 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $222.49. The stock had a trading volume of 309,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,715,828. The firm has a market capitalization of $350.93 billion, a PE ratio of 20.23, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $135.26 and a 12 month high of $230.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $201.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $183.99.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.Morgan Stanley's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at $53,209,159.78. This trade represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total transaction 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 $69,224,370.48. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762 over the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sapient Capital LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 10,076 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,658,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 16.0% during the 1st quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,263 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,524,000 after buying an additional 1,279 shares in the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.5% during the first quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 30,482 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,016,000 after buying an additional 1,310 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5.2% during the first quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 742,378 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $122,173,000 after buying an additional 36,953 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 25.8% in the first quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 3,555 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $585,000 after buying an additional 730 shares in the last quarter. 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 announced a $20 billion share repurchase authorization and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.15 per share from $1.00, which should support capital returns and signals management confidence.
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target on Morgan Stanley to $225 from $200, suggesting analysts still see modest upside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: The bank also received a tenth consecutive “Outstanding” community reinvestment rating from the OCC, reinforcing a solid regulatory and franchise backdrop.
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley has also been active in research coverage, including a recent target increase on NextEra Energy and a bullish view on several other names, which highlights its continued influence on Wall Street sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Shares are being weighed by broader concern around Morgan Stanley’s exposure to private credit, after reports that its North Haven private credit fund capped Q2 withdrawals because investor redemption requests exceeded what the fund was willing to honor.
• Negative Sentiment: Related headlines across alternative asset managers and private-credit vehicles have revived liquidity fears in the sector, which can pressure Morgan Stanley’s stock even without a fresh company-specific earnings miss.

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.

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.