UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Price

Key Points

• UBS raised its price target on Morgan Stanley to $214 from $196, implying roughly an 11.9% upside
• Q1 results beat expectations: Morgan Stanley posted $3.43 EPS versus $3.02 expected and revenue of $20.58B versus $19.23B expected, a 16% year-over-year revenue gain.
• Insiders sold a total of 77,476 shares (~$14.6M) over the past three months, while the stock recently traded at $191.29, near its 12‑month high of $194.83.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by investment analysts at UBS Group from $196.00 to $214.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. UBS Group's price objective suggests a potential upside of 11.87% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on MS. Barclays raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Citizens Jmp restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.17.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS traded down $2.06 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $191.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 379,316 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,948,387. 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 capitalization of $302.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $119.99 and a 12 month high of $194.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $172.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.42.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.89%. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. This trade represents a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total value of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. AIA Group Ltd lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 77.7% during the 1st quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 125,392 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,636,000 after buying an additional 54,816 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at about $225,000. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5.6% during the first quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 77,374 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,254,000 after acquiring an additional 4,129 shares during the last quarter. Spartan Wealth Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth about $3,672,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.6% in the first quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,480 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $737,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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: Daiwa raised its price target on Morgan Stanley to $198 (from $175), which provides fresh valuation support and can prompt buy‑side positioning around the new target. Daiwa Raises MS PT
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley has launched a pilot to enable spot crypto trading on its E*Trade platform at 50 bps — undercutting many competitors. If scaled to E*Trade’s multi‑million client base this could be a meaningful new retail revenue stream and a customer‑acquisition lever. MS Pilots Crypto on E*Trade
• Positive Sentiment: Investment banking and financing activity is robust — Morgan Stanley shows up as a top advisor/lender on large deals (e.g., financing roles on recent joint‑venture transactions), supporting near‑term fee revenue and pipeline momentum. This also aligns with the firm leading sector M&A rankings by value. MS Tops Construction M&A Rankings
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst activity is elevated — some firms are raising price targets on both MS and companies covered by MS analysts. Note that Daiwa’s PT raise came with a continued "neutral" stance, so the move may be interpreted as measured rather than a consensus upgrade. Daiwa Maintains Neutral
• Negative Sentiment: Industry-level risk: the E*Trade crypto pilot is helping ignite a fee war among brokers (lower retail trading fees). That could boost volumes but also compress margins across brokerage businesses if competitors match pricing — a potential headwind for net trading revenue per trade. Crypto Fee War Coverage

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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