Rep. Steve Cohen Sells Off Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Representative Steve Cohen (D-Tennessee) recently sold shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS). In a filing disclosed on January 14th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $50,001 and $100,000 in Morgan Stanley stock on December 17th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “STEPHENS ADVANTAGE ACCOUNT” account.

Representative Steve Cohen also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) on 12/17/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Cohen & Steers Total Return Realty Fund (NYSE:RFI) on 12/17/2025.
• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZKAP) on 12/17/2025.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 5.7%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $191.04 on Friday. 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 $192.16. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $174.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $159.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $303.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total value of $16,434,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. The trade was a 14.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,123,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,779,734,000 after buying an additional 1,354,142 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,321,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,343,523,000 after acquiring an additional 167,487 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.9% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,494,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,893,590,000 after purchasing an additional 448,960 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,234,883,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,260,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,267,847,000 after purchasing an additional 822,120 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $184.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $157.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.85.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat and strong fees: MS posted $2.68 EPS (above estimates) and reported revenue of ~$17.9B with investment‑banking revenue rising ~47% year‑over‑year — a clear driver behind the rally. Morgan Stanley Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Earnings Results
• Positive Sentiment: Sector/peer momentum: Strong results at peers (Goldman, others) and a broader market lift from chip/tech earnings helped financial ETFs and bank stocks, amplifying Morgan Stanley’s move. Stocks Finish Higher As Chip, Bank Stocks Drive Optimism
• Positive Sentiment: Strong forward pipeline: Management and street coverage point to a bigger 2026 IPO/deal pipeline and ongoing wealth‑management growth (AUM ~ $9.3T), suggesting revenues could stay elevated if markets and deal activity persist. Morgan Stanley Sees 2026 IPO Wave, CFO Flags Bigger Pipeline, Broader Dealmaking
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst reactions are mixed: many firms reaffirm buy/overweight stances or raise targets on banks, but some note that strong fundamentals may already be priced in — raising the risk of “sell the news” moves after the beat. Morgan Stanley Q4 Review: Strong Fundamentals Priced In (Downgrade)
• Negative Sentiment: Cash‑flow and insider selling flagged: while EPS beat, Quiver/filings flagged a material swing to negative operating cash flow (roughly -$3.3B) and notable insider sales over recent months — items that could concern value/longer‑term investors. Morgan Stanley (MS) Releases Q4 2025 Earnings: EPS Beats, Revenue Misses; Operating Cash Flow Turns Deeply Negative

About Representative Cohen

Steve Cohen (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2007. His current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Cohen (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Cohen earned a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt and a J.D. from the University of Memphis School of Law. Prior to his election to the U.S. House, Cohen was a member of the Tennessee State Senate. As a child, Cohen contracted polio. Cohen filed to run for his first elected office the same day that he first registered to vote.

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.