Royal Bank Of Canada Reiterates Sector Perform Rating for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)‘s stock had its “sector perform” rating restated by research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $207.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 9.56% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Bank of America increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group raised Morgan Stanley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $195.00 to $196.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Evercore lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $199.67.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of MS opened at $188.95 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $298.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $168.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.67. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $104.78 and a 1 year high of $194.59.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 14.65%.The company’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 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 8,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.08, for a total value of $1,547,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 119,128 shares in the company, valued at $21,690,826.24. This represents a 6.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,209,159.78. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 195,549 shares of company stock worth $36,260,510 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations: revenue and EPS surprised on the upside, driven by strong trading and investment‑banking performance and continued wealth‑management flows — the core earnings beat is the primary driver of investor optimism. MS Q1 Deep Dive: Wealth and Investment Banking Deliver
• Positive Sentiment: MSBT (Morgan Stanley’s spot Bitcoin ETF) has drawn >$100M in its first week — a fast start that supports asset‑gathering momentum and fee diversification at the firm. Morgan Stanley Bitcoin ETF Tops $100 Million in Six Days
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street is increasing MS valuation assumptions: several firms raised price targets and upgraded outlooks after Q1 (Bank of America, Evercore, Argus, Keefe Bruyette & Woods among them), which supports further upside narratives. Morgan Stanley Price Target Raised to $225.00 at Bank of America
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend and capital return: Morgan Stanley announced a $1.00 quarterly dividend (ex‑dividend Apr 30), signaling confidence in cash generation and returning capital to shareholders (income‑supporting but not an earnings catalyst).
• Neutral Sentiment: Ongoing investment banking / underwriting activity (including large debt syndications) highlights the firm’s franchise utility in markets — positive for fee pipelines but cyclically sensitive to capital‑markets activity.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory / reputational overhang: Senator Elizabeth Warren requested Fed records tied to a Fed nominee’s past actions that reference Morgan Stanley; while not an immediate earnings issue, it increases political/regulatory headline risk. Elizabeth Warren Challenges Fed Chair Nominee Kevin Warsh
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts still express caution: a few firms kept conservative ratings or raised PTs while maintaining neutral/hold views (e.g., HSBC/Rothschild adjustments), which can cap near‑term upside and prompt mixed trading. HSBC Adjusts Price Target on Morgan Stanley

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.