Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Given New $187.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price objective increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $179.00 to $187.00 in a report issued on Friday,MarketScreener reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 13.16% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. HSBC upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Zacks Research cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.35.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS traded up $2.69 on Friday, hitting $215.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 600,279 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,694,611. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $192.77 and a 200-day moving average of $180.61. The company has a market capitalization of $339.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.23. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $128.81 and a 12-month high of $219.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 169,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 69.0% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 8,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,263,000 after buying an additional 3,661 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 90.9% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,378,000 after buying an additional 7,688 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.3% in the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 263,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,127,000 after acquiring an additional 15,623 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.8% in the second quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,805,000 after acquiring an additional 3,807 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick said the firm is aiming to build a $10 trillion wealth-management “juggernaut,” reinforcing the long-term growth story in a high-margin business that investors view as a key earnings driver. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains constructive: Erste Group slightly trimmed FY2026 EPS estimates to $11.97 from $12.00, but still kept a Buy rating, and the new forecast is still above the consensus estimate of $11.85 per share.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted Morgan Stanley’s exposure to a potential IPO boom and AI-related capital markets activity, which could boost underwriting and advisory fees if the deal pipeline accelerates in 2026. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley also expanded AI access across its workplace wealth platform, a sign the firm is investing in tools that could deepen client relationships and improve advisor productivity. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Other Morgan Stanley headlines were more informational than stock-moving, including commentary on inflation/Fed risks and a Reuters report that a Japan-affiliated Morgan Stanley securities venture plans to expand retail wealth assets.

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.