Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Evercore

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) was downgraded by research analysts at Evercore from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on MS. Zacks Research upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Friday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.93.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 2.4%

NYSE MS opened at $180.07 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $286.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.20. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $192.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a 50-day moving average of $180.57 and a 200-day moving average of $163.82.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total transaction of $5,569,194.60. Following the transaction, the insider owned 280,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,501,921.22. This trade represents a 9.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.77, for a total value of $2,942,225.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 135,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,135,424.08. The trade was a 10.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,234,883,000. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 23.4% in the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,357,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,318,055,000 after buying an additional 1,776,544 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 319.7% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,092,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $294,727,000 after acquiring an additional 1,593,774 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 18.1% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,623,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,355,537,000 after acquiring an additional 1,476,372 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,253,554,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361,940 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results & valuation check: recent coverage highlights Morgan Stanley’s better-than-expected Q4 earnings and a rebound in investment banking activity — the core drivers cited for the stock’s move as investors price in stronger fee revenue and improved outlook. Morgan Stanley valuation check
• Positive Sentiment: Index positioning: a note that Morgan Stanley is positioned among Russell 1000 ETF constituents supports expectations of incremental passive inflows if/when indices are rebalanced — a technical bid to shares. MS Positioned Among Russell 1000 ETF Constituents
• Positive Sentiment: Advisory momentum: Morgan Stanley topped power-sector M&A advisory in 2025 — evidence its advisory pipeline and fee generation are strong, reinforcing the investment-banking recovery narrative. That supports revenue diversification beyond markets. Morgan Stanley tops power M&A
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional flows / stake moves: a small buy by Linscomb Wealth marginally increased MS holdings — a minor positive signal about demand from wealth managers but not material to stock direction. Linscomb Wealth purchases MS shares
• Neutral Sentiment: Investment-banking pipeline evidence: Morgan Stanley appears among anchor/backer activity on deals (e.g., Fractal Analytics IPO anchor interest), underscoring continued capital-markets engagement — supportive over time but not an immediate share-mover. Fractal Analytics anchor investors
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade: Evercore ISI trimmed Morgan Stanley from “strong-buy” to “hold” — a near-term headwind for sentiment that can cap upside until guidance/earnings prove durable. Evercore downgrade / Zacks note
• Negative Sentiment: Sector costs & policy risk: Reuters reports U.S. banks increased lobbying as policy fights heat up — a reminder of rising regulatory/policy risk and possible higher compliance costs that affect all large banks, including MS. Banks boost Washington lobbying

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.