Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Rothschild & Co Redburn Analyst Says

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price objective raised by equities research analysts at Rothschild & Co Redburn from $171.00 to $183.00 in a research note issued on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn’s target price would indicate a potential downside of 3.15% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently commented on MS. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a report on Friday, January 16th. Daiwa Securities Group decreased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $187.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Argus boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $199.67.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.9%

MS opened at $188.95 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $298.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.19. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $168.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $104.78 and a 12 month high of $194.59.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at $53,209,159.78. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider owned 357,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 195,549 shares of company stock worth $36,260,510 over the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MS. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings 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 during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 69.0% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 8,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,263,000 after acquiring an additional 3,661 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 90.9% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,378,000 after acquiring an additional 7,688 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 263,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,127,000 after acquiring an additional 15,623 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,805,000 after acquiring an additional 3,807 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

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.