Is Morgan Stanley Stock Outperforming the S&P 500?
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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.
On the date of publication, Sohini Mondal did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.