Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Cut to Hold at Evercore ISI

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

Several other analysts have also issued reports on MS. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $211.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Citigroup raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.93.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS opened at $175.77 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $192.68. The firm has a market cap of $279.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s fifty day moving average is $180.37 and its 200-day moving average is $163.54.

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

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other 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 sale, the insider directly owned 280,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,501,921.22. This trade represents a 9.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total value of $6,020,286.48. Following the sale, the insider owned 357,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,254,222.62. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,855.6% in the 4th quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 645.8% in the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley posted a strong Q4 and the firm has gotten buy-side coverage looking at valuation after a rebound in investment banking, supporting fee revenue expectations and the stock’s fundamental story. Valuation Check
• Positive Sentiment: League?leading deal activity: Morgan Stanley ranked first in power M&A advisory in 2025 — a sign of strong investment banking momentum that should help fee income going forward. M&A Advisory Ranking
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying: a small institutional buy (Linscomb Wealth adding ~2,966 shares) was reported — not material by itself but consistent with some fund-level accumulation. Fund Purchase
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate/brand events: Morgan Stanley is hosting community and innovation events (Go Red women’s leadership, MS Inclusive & Sustainable Ventures demo day) — positive for reputation and client relationships but unlikely to move near?term earnings. Go Red Event
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory/portfolio housekeeping: filings show Morgan Stanley changing some external holdings (e.g., ceasing to be a substantial holder in RPMGlobal) — routine institutional repositioning. Holder Update
• Negative Sentiment: Industry policy risk/costs: Reuters reports U.S. banks increased Washington lobbying substantially — more regulatory fights and potential compliance costs could pressure margins and create short?term uncertainty for large banks including MS. Lobbying & Policy Risks
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market/headline pressure: equity markets are weaker today (SPY down) driven by sharp moves in large constituents (notably a big selloff in LLY and other names). That broad risk?off environment is pulling MS lower even though company fundamentals look solid; watch macro/tech/healthcare headlines for further pressure. Market Weakness Example

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.