Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Why Earnings Season Could Be Great for Morgan Stanley (MS)

Read MoreHide Full Article

Investors are always looking for stocks that are poised to beat at earnings season and Morgan Stanley (MS - Free Report) may be one such company. The firm has earnings coming up pretty soon, and events are shaping up quite nicely for their report.

That is because Morgan Stanley is seeing favorable earnings estimate revision activity as of late, which is generally a precursor to an earnings beat. After all, analysts raising estimates right before earnings—with the most up-to-date information possible—is a pretty good indicator of some favorable trends underneath the surface for MS in this report.

In fact, the Most Accurate Estimate for the current quarter is currently at 66 cents per share for MS, compared to a broader Zacks Consensus Estimate of 65 per share. This suggests that analysts have very recently bumped up their estimates for MS, giving the stock a Zacks Earnings ESP of 1.54% heading into earnings season.

Morgan Stanley Price and EPS Surprise

Why is this Important?

A positive reading for the Zacks Earnings ESP has proven to be very powerful in producing both positive surprises, and outperforming the market. Our recent 10 year backtest shows that stocks that have a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better show a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and have returned over 28% on average in annual returns (see more Top Earnings ESP stocks here).

Given that MS has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and an ESP in positive territory, investors might want to consider this stock ahead of earnings. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Clearly, recent earnings estimate revisions suggest that good things are ahead for Morgan Stanley, and that a beat might be in the cards for the upcoming report.

Zacks' Top Investment Ideas for Long-Term Profit

How would you like to see our best recommendations to help you find today’s most promising long-term stocks? Starting now, you can look inside our portfolios featuring stocks under $10, income stocks, value investments and more. These picks, which have double and triple-digit profit potential, are rarely available to the public. But you can see them now. Click here >>


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


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


Morgan Stanley (MS) - free report >>

Published in