Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Morgan Stanley (MS) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know

Read MoreHide Full Article

Morgan Stanley (MS - Free Report) closed at $83.51 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.66% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.67%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.25%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 1.14%.

Coming into today, shares of the investment bank had lost 3.17% in the past month. In that same time, the Finance sector lost 3.09%, while the S&P 500 lost 0.73%.

Morgan Stanley will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be October 18, 2023. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.42, down 7.19% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $13.41 billion, up 3.24% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $5.83 per share and revenue of $54.78 billion, which would represent changes of -8.33% and +2.08%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Morgan Stanley. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.11% higher within the past month. Morgan Stanley is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Looking at its valuation, Morgan Stanley is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 14.56. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 17, which means Morgan Stanley is trading at a discount to the group.

Meanwhile, MS's PEG ratio is currently 2.33. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. Financial - Investment Bank stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.27 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Financial - Investment Bank industry is part of the Finance sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 106, putting it in the top 43% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Morgan Stanley (MS) - free report >>

Published in