Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Rating Lowered by Evercore ISI

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

MS has been the topic of a number of other reports. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a report on Friday, January 16th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Dbs Bank raised Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $157.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.93.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $180.07 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $180.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $163.82. 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 $286.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 14.09%.The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 9.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were 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 represents a 8.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 3,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $503,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.5% during the second quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 2,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Optas LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 11.0% during the second quarter. Optas LLC now owns 3,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. Finally, Leo Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $304,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about 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

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.