MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) Stock Rating Reaffirmed as “Outperform” by Royal Bank Of Canada

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by equities research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $655.00 price target on the technology company’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 6.56% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on MSCI. UBS Group set a $615.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $680.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of MSCI from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on MSCI from $685.00 to $720.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, William Blair set a $680.00 target price on MSCI in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $691.93.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSCI traded down $5.58 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $614.66. The company had a trading volume of 192,719 shares, compared to its average volume of 638,602. MSCI has a 12-month low of $501.08 and a 12-month high of $644.77. The company has a fifty day moving average of $561.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $577.16. The company has a market cap of $43.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.53, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.24.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 20th. The technology company reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.03 by $0.08. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 50.69% and a net margin of 40.31%. The business had revenue of $892.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $887.83 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.47 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that MSCI will post 19.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.00, for a total transaction of $256,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 21,644 shares in the company, valued at $12,337,080. This trade represents a 2.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 3.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSCI

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of MSCI by 0.7% during the first quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 3,179 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,714,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd now owns 1,907 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,028,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 489 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. now owns 3,945 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,126,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in MSCI by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting MSCI

Here are the key news stories impacting MSCI this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MSCI’s third-quarter results exceeded expectations, with earnings per share of $5.11 versus the $5.03 consensus and revenue of $892 million versus estimates of $887.8 million. Revenue increased 12.4% year over year, supporting the company’s growth narrative. MSCI Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted AI-driven product expansion, diversified client growth, continued demand for indexes and analytics, and potential shareholder returns through buybacks. These factors could support longer-term earnings growth. MSCI Q3 Deep Dive: AI-Driven Product Expansion and Diversified Client Growth
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target, while Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an Outperform rating. Separate coverage also characterized the shares as a Buy, reinforcing generally favorable sell-side views. JPMorgan Price Target Update
• Neutral Sentiment: MSCI’s proposal to potentially classify Indonesia as a standalone market has triggered a political backlash from President Prabowo and heightened scrutiny of the index provider. Indonesia’s regulator responded with $116.7 million in fines for market violations, which may address transparency concerns but keeps the issue in focus. Indonesia Responds to MSCI Downgrade Proposal
• Negative Sentiment: Polen Capital’s Focus Growth Strategy exited MSCI to fund a Meta Platforms position, creating a negative fund-flow signal. Additionally, valuation concerns remain after the strong rally: one analyst argued that double-digit growth is already reflected in the stock price. Polen Capital Exits MSCI

About MSCI

MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) is a global provider of investment decision-support tools and services for institutional investors, asset managers, banks and other financial institutions. The company is best known for developing equity, fixed-income and multi-asset indexes used to benchmark portfolios and support the creation of investment products such as exchange-traded funds.

In addition to its indexes, MSCI provides portfolio analytics, risk-management and performance-attribution tools, as well as research and data covering environmental, social and governance factors, climate risk and sustainable investing.