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

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In the latest trading session, Morgan Stanley (MS - Free Report) closed at $91.10, marking a +0.44% move from the previous day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.54% loss on the day.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the investment bank had gained 4.29% over the past month. This has outpaced the Finance sector's gain of 1.25% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.91% in that time.

Wall Street will be looking for positivity from MS as it approaches its next earnings report date. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.66, down 18.63% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $13.98 billion, up 4.23% from the prior-year quarter.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $6.96 per share and revenue of $55.84 billion. These totals would mark changes of +5.78% and +15.86%, respectively, from last year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for MS. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.05% lower. MS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, MS is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 13.04. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 11.93.

Also, we should mention that MS has a PEG ratio of 1.93. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. MS's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.27 as of yesterday's close.

The Financial - Investment Bank industry is part of the Finance sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 174, putting it in the bottom 32% 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.

To follow MS in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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