Bank of America Initiates Coverage on MSCI (NYSE:MSCI)

Investment analysts at Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) in a report issued on Tuesday. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $700.00 price target on the technology company’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 28.39% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $715.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $655.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of MSCI from $590.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Evercore boosted their price target on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $671.78.

MSCI Stock Performance

NYSE:MSCI opened at $545.23 on Tuesday. MSCI has a fifty-two week low of $486.73 and a fifty-two week high of $626.28. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $572.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $565.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.75, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.29.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.04. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 82.59% and a net margin of 38.36%.The company had revenue of $822.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $819.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.18 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that MSCI will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, October 28th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 800 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $518.95 per share, with a total value of $415,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,493,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,231,900.65. The trade was a 0.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.00, for a total value of $247,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,901,450. The trade was a 2.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 19,300 shares of company stock valued at $10,261,957. 3.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of MSCI

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MSCI. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in MSCI in the second quarter valued at approximately $547,348,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of MSCI by 499.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 874,882 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $496,417,000 after acquiring an additional 728,900 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY raised its position in MSCI by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 2,755,747 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,581,055,000 after purchasing an additional 361,630 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its stake in MSCI by 91.8% during the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 691,554 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $392,395,000 after purchasing an additional 331,040 shares during the period. Finally, Magellan Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in MSCI during the 2nd quarter worth $175,912,000. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key MSCI News

Here are the key news stories impacting MSCI this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MSCI CEO Henry Fernandez bought additional company stock (6,000 shares on Feb. 13 at ~$524.18 and a further 800 shares on Feb. 17 at ~$518.95), signaling insider confidence and providing a near-term demand cue. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America initiated coverage with a Buy and a $700 price target, which suggests materially higher upside from recent levels and can attract institutional flows and positive re-rating pressure. (coverage noted 2/17/2026)
• Positive Sentiment: MSCI raised its quarterly dividend to $2.05 and retains a $3.0 billion share repurchase authorization (≈7.1% of shares), both of which support shareholder returns and can underpin the stock’s valuation. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several fund commentaries reference MSCI benchmarks and international exposures; these are informative for context but are unlikely to be discrete catalysts. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional portfolio commentaries mention benchmark performance (Nomura, ClearBridge); useful for macro context but not direct company news. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Technical and short-term headwinds: MSCI is trading below its 50- and 200-day moving averages, which can trigger selling from technical traders and algos despite positive fundamentals. Read More.

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.