Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Daiwa Securities Group Analyst Says

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its target price hoisted by equities research analysts at Daiwa Securities Group from $175.00 to $198.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Daiwa Securities Group’s price target indicates a potential upside of 4.53% from the company’s current price.

MS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wolfe Research cut their price target on Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Bank of America lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.17.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS stock traded up $1.42 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $189.43. The company had a trading volume of 341,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,980,249. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $171.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $172.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $299.56 billion, a PE ratio of 17.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $117.21 and a fifty-two week high of $194.59.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly 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 analysts’ expectations of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 14.65%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total transaction 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 approximately $69,224,370.48. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. 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: Morgan Stanley named a lead financier on Meta’s large El Paso data-center financing — a ~\$13 billion mandate that should generate meaningful investment‑banking fees and reaffirms MS’s role on big tech financings. Article
• Positive Sentiment: ADX named Morgan Stanley its first international Remote Trading Member, expanding MS’s ability to route client flows into Abu Dhabi markets — a potential source of trading and prime-brokerage revenue growth. Article
• Positive Sentiment: MS’s Bitcoin ETP (MSBT) posted positive inflows recently, showing growing traction in its crypto product lineup and adding asset-management/fee diversification. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Investment Management launched a Wealth Education Center for advisors — a product/engagement initiative that can help retain advisor clients and support long‑term AUM growth. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Firm research and public commentary (e.g., Morgan Stanley views on why stocks are rallying) continue to influence market narrative and institutional client engagement, but are less likely to move MS shares immediately. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader analyst activity and sector notes (Morgan Stanley research lifting targets in semiconductors, other analyst calls) highlight the firm’s research franchise but are indirect for MS stock performance. Article
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. regulators have opened a preliminary probe into Morgan Stanley’s investment‑banking program in Budapest — a material reputational and legal risk that can weigh on the stock while details and scope remain unclear. This appears to be the primary driver of today’s weakness. Article
• Negative Sentiment: Financial‑sector weakness and risk‑off moves across banks/financials are pressuring peers and may amplify MS’s pullback even where news is idiosyncratic. Article

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.