Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $112.22, but opened at $116.88. Morgan Stanley shares last traded at $121.14, with a volume of 6,461,296 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on MS. Citigroup increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Hsbc Global Res raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, July 18th. HSBC upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.06.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 7.5 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $196.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.03, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $101.81 and a 200-day moving average of $98.81.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total transaction of $797,775.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 87,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,848.03. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total value of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,549,326. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total transaction of $797,775.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 87,119 shares in the company, valued at $9,266,848.03. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. SageView Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 255.5% during the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 10,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $951,000 after acquiring an additional 7,797 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 33,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,097,000 after acquiring an additional 4,564 shares during the last quarter. Park National Corp OH increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 4,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.6% during the 1st quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 3,089 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It operates through Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments.