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With a market cap of $209.4 billion, Morgan Stanley (MS) is a leading global financial services firm providing a wide range of financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. Based in New York, it operates through three main business segments: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management.
Companies valued at more than $200 billion or more are generally considered “mega-cap” stocks, and Morgan Stanley fits this criterion perfectly. Morgan Stanley is renowned for its strong presence in wealth management, particularly through its high-net-worth client services, and its leadership in fixed-income underwriting among major U.S. banks.
The financial service company pulled back 4% from its 52-week high of $136.24. Shares of MS are up 31.3% over the past three months, outperforming the broader S&P 500 Index's ($SPX) 10.6% rise in the same period.
Longer term, on a YTD basis, shares of Morgan Stanley have surged 40.2%, lagging behind SPX's 27.6% increase. Also, Morgan Stanley has risen 63.1% over the past 52 weeks, compared to SPX's 33.3% return.
MS has been in a bullish trend, trading above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages since last December despite some fluctuations.
On Oct. 16, Morgan Stanley's shares rose 6.5% primarily due to strong earnings in its Q3 2024 report, where it posted better-than-expected earnings per share of $1.88. This surge was driven by significant growth in investment banking revenues, particularly from advisory and underwriting fees, which saw substantial year-over-year increases. Additionally, the firm’s trading performance was strong, with equity trading revenues rising 21% to $3 billion and fixed-income trading income up 3% to $2 billion.
However, the stock’s rival, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS), has seen a 75.3% rise over the past 52 weeks and a 55.3% gain on a YTD basis, outpacing MS' performances in both periods.
Despite MS’ outperformance relative to SPX over the past year, analysts are cautiously optimistic about the stock's prospects. The stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the 22 analysts covering it, and it is currently trading above the mean price target of $126.65.
