MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) Earns Outperform Rating from Royal Bank Of Canada

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $655.00 price target on the technology company’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 9.54% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on MSCI. Evercore increased their price target on MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on MSCI from $618.00 to $545.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Bank of America started coverage on MSCI in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $700.00 price target for the company. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $730.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $692.70.

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI stock opened at $597.96 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $552.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $562.22. MSCI has a one year low of $501.08 and a one year high of $626.28. The stock has a market cap of $43.53 billion, a PE ratio of 34.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.30.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The technology company reported $4.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.38 by $0.17. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 65.48% and a net margin of 40.74%.The company had revenue of $850.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $830.91 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MSCI will post 19.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $252,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,624,640. This trade represents a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 800 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $518.95 per share, with a total value of $415,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,493,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $775,231,900.65. This represents a 0.05% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 3.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSCI. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in MSCI by 7.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,003 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,133,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in MSCI by 39.0% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 6,585 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,724,000 after acquiring an additional 1,846 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in MSCI by 20.9% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $607,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in MSCI by 1.0% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 35,130 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $20,261,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in MSCI during the second quarter valued at approximately $88,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More MSCI News

Here are the key news stories impacting MSCI this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat and recurring revenue strength: MSCI reported Q1 EPS and revenue ahead of consensus, driven by recurring sales in Index and Analytics segments and ~14% top-line growth — a clear operational beat supporting longer-term organic growth. MSCI Q1 earnings top consensus, aided by recurring sales in index and analytics segments
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher price targets: Multiple firms have raised targets (examples include UBS, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo and RBC), signaling renewed analyst confidence and implying meaningful upside from current levels. UBS raises price target
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend confirmed: MSCI announced a $2.05 quarterly dividend (ex-dividend May 15), maintaining shareholder returns and supporting income-oriented investor interest.
• Neutral Sentiment: Shareholder votes completed: At the April 21 annual meeting, shareholders backed the board, executive pay plan and auditor — removes governance uncertainty for the near term. MSCI Shareholders Back Board, Pay Plan and Auditor
• Neutral Sentiment: External review unchanged: An external review found MSCI’s risk profile unchanged from its 2025 10-K, suggesting no new material disclosures are required. MSCI External Review Finds Risk Profile Unchanged
• Negative Sentiment: Index treatment for Indonesia remains unsettled: MSCI has extended its final call on Indonesia equities (index suspension/extensions and regulatory response), which can delay index inflows for Indonesian securities and create short-term revenue uncertainty for index-related products. MSCI extends final call on RI equities to June review

About MSCI

MSCI Inc is a global provider of investment decision support tools and services for the financial industry. The company is best known for its family of market indexes, which are widely used as benchmarks by asset managers and as the basis for exchange-traded funds and other passive products. In addition to index construction and licensing, MSCI offers portfolio analytics, risk models, factor and performance attribution tools, and a suite of data and technology solutions designed to support portfolio management and trading.

Beyond traditional indexing and risk analytics, MSCI has expanded into environmental, social and governance (ESG) research and ratings, offering data, scores and screening tools that help investors integrate sustainability considerations into investment processes.