Jefferies Financial Group Downgrades Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) to Hold

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

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.14.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $160.69 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $192.68. The company has a market capitalization of $255.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.74, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $177.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $168.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total transaction of $5,569,194.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 280,481 shares in the company, valued at $51,501,921.22. This trade represents a 9.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total value of $3,691,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 127,872 shares in the company, valued at $23,598,777.60. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 over the last 90 days. 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 added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,253,554,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361,940 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 103,854,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,437,334,000 after purchasing an additional 539,544 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,321,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,343,523,000 after acquiring an additional 167,487 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,070,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,786,350,000 after purchasing an additional 534,708 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,018,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,441,505,000 after buying an additional 524,189 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its Morgan Stanley price target to $179 (keeps a neutral rating) — the price-target bump provides a near-term valuation lift and is being cited by traders as a catalyst. JPMorgan raises MS PT
• Positive Sentiment: Management is cutting roughly 2,500 jobs (about 3% of the workforce) as part of a restructuring aimed at improving efficiency and margins — investors often view targeted cuts as net-positive for near‑term profitability. Morgan Stanley Job Cuts Test Cost Efficiency
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic collaborations and product initiatives (EquityZen buyout, Zerohash crypto tie‑up and others) are being highlighted by coverage as part of MS’s effort to broaden its wealth and digital offerings — supports long‑term growth narrative. Will Morgan Stanley’s Strategic Collaborations Drive Long-Term Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley (the firm) raised its target on Nu Holdings (NU) and continues active analyst coverage — visible analyst engagement can support trading interest in MS shares through fee and advisory expectations. MS raises Nu PT
• Positive Sentiment: Datadog cited re-acceleration at a Morgan Stanley conference as AI and security demand pick up — MS’s conference franchise and underwriting/advisory pipeline benefit when tech companies show re-acceleration. Datadog at Morgan Stanley conference
• Neutral Sentiment: Roundups and analyst‑review pieces (e.g., “Demystifying Morgan Stanley”) are drawing attention but mostly repackage existing analyst views — useful for flows but not a clear directional catalyst. Demystifying Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research continues to move targets on other companies (e.g., Grainger), reflecting active bench strength in institutional research — a reputational positive but indirect for MS stock. MS updates Grainger forecasts
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies downgraded Morgan Stanley from strong‑buy to hold — an analyst downgrade can trigger short-term selling or reduced conviction among momentum traders. Jefferies downgrades MS

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.