Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Rating Upgraded by UBS Group

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) was upgraded by analysts at UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $196.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $195.00. UBS Group’s price target indicates a potential upside of 11.26% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on MS. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $189.94.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 4.6%

MS stock opened at $176.17 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $279.73 billion, a PE ratio of 17.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.19. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $97.89 and a one year high of $192.68. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $168.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.77, for a total transaction of $2,942,225.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 135,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,135,424.08. This represents a 10.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total transaction of $3,966,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 171,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,464,920. This trade represents a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Investment Management launched the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT), a spot Bitcoin ETP on NYSE Arca priced with an ultra-low 0.14% fee — the first bank‑affiliated spot Bitcoin product from a major U.S. bank. The fund’s low fee and MS’s advisor network could drive meaningful, durable inflows and incremental fee revenue. Businesswire: MSBT launch
• Positive Sentiment: The MSBT launch gains distribution advantages: Morgan Stanley’s ~16,000 financial advisors and ~$6.2T in client assets create a “captive” channel that analysts and industry commentators say could translate to advisor-directed inflows from day one — a structural advantage versus independent issuers. CoinDesk video/coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Street support: UBS upgraded Morgan Stanley to Buy this morning, citing wealth‑management strength and profitability — the upgrade adds momentum to the stock amid broader bank‑sector volatility. Positive analyst notes can buoy sentiment into earnings. CNBC: UBS upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is also moving in private credit (planning new funds/interval offerings) to capitalize on market dislocation — this expands fee opportunities but carries execution and fundraising timing risk. Benzinga: private credit fund
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming earnings (mid‑April) and some estimate revisions are in focus — incremental analyst EPS upgrades (Erste) and commentary about momentum set expectations that investors will check next results for the impact of product launches and wealth‑management flows.
• Negative Sentiment: Offsetting analyst moves: a few firms trimmed price targets or issued cautious notes (Evercore, BMO, Daiwa) — these mixed research actions create some short‑term target dispersion and could cap upside if macro/headline risk rises. AmericanBankingNews: Evercore/BMO notes

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.