Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Given New $153.00 Price Target at HSBC

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its target price cut by research analysts at HSBC from $175.00 to $153.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. HSBC’s price objective indicates a potential downside of 8.04% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Evercore lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $183.13.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of MS stock traded up $1.80 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $166.37. 4,172,833 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,523,629. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $94.33 and a fifty-two week high of $192.68. The firm has a market cap of $264.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $170.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 14.09%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total value of $6,020,286.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 357,342 shares in the company, valued at $65,254,222.62. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 8,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.08, for a total transaction of $1,547,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 119,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,690,826.24. This trade represents a 6.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506 in the last ninety days. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s E*Trade is in talks to lead SpaceX’s retail IPO allocation, which would give MS first crack at a large retail tranche (reports say SpaceX may reserve up to 30% for retail). That could boost trading fees, retail customer flows and E*Trade’s strategic position versus rivals. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: High‑profile investor support: reports that billionaire Paul Tudor Jones is bullish on Morgan Stanley have likely helped sentiment, reinforcing confidence in MS as a bank/wealth manager play. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Product pipeline upside: coverage referenced Morgan Stanley’s upcoming spot Bitcoin ETF and related digital-asset activity — a new ETF product and related trading/asset-gathering could create recurring fee revenue and trading commissions. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Solid fundamentals (recent quarter): Morgan Stanley’s last reported quarter beat EPS and revenue expectations, supporting the valuation and reinforcing investor confidence in recurring investment‑banking and wealth‑management profitability. (Company results: Jan 15 release)
• Neutral Sentiment: Research flow and analyst notes: MS research has been active — trimming price targets on some large tech names (e.g., Meta to $775 while keeping Overweight) and adjusting targets on other coverage names (FUTU, Unity, etc.). That research can move sector sentiment but is mixed for MS’s stock directly. Read More. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic positioning: analysts and coverage note MS is pushing into alternatives and private-credit (EquityZen deal, private credit ramp) — a longer‑term AUM growth driver but execution and margin timing make near‑term impact mixed. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Reputational risk item: the Financial Times reported a Morgan Stanley wealth manager engaged with a high‑profile client’s broker activity before a geopolitical event — such media scrutiny can be a short‑term reputational/headline risk for the wealth business. Read More.

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.