Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley is a New York-based bulge-bracket investment bank and wealth manager. Its research department placed in the top three of Extel's All-America research survey in 2024 and 2025.
Activity24M
RatingsPrice targetsKey figures
- Stocks covered
- 1,41112M
- Actions
- 6,98812M
- Ratings / Price targets
- 3,489 / 3,499
- Upgrades / Downgrades
- 214 / 254
- Initiations
- 44
- Buy-rated
- 46%of 1,255 rated
- Median upside
- +12.8%
- Targets raised / lowered
- 2,019 / 1,173
- On record
- Feb 2012 – Sep 2026
Overview
Morgan Stanley Research had more than 600 analysts, strategists and economists and covered more than 3,700 stocks globally at the end of 2025. In Extel's 2025 All-America survey it tied BofA Securities for second place with 43 published positions and ranked third on the weighted leaders table. In 2025 the firm expanded coverage of private companies, on which it has published since 2017.
Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley founded the firm in 1935 after the Glass–Steagall Act forced J.P. Morgan & Co. to separate its securities business. It listed on the NYSE in 1986 and merged with Dean Witter, Discover & Co. in 1997. In 2008 it became a bank holding company and sold a major stake to Mitsubishi UFJ; it later expanded wealth and asset management through Smith Barney, E*Trade (2020) and Eaton Vance (2021).
Milestones
- 1935
Founded by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley
- 1986
Initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange
- 1997
Merged with Dean Witter, Discover & Co.
- 2008
Became bank holding company; Mitsubishi UFJ acquired major stake
- 2020
Acquired online brokerage E*Trade
- 2021
Acquired asset manager Eaton Vance
Firm facts
- Type
- Bulge bracket
- Founded
- 1935
- Headquarters
- New York, United States
- Listing
- NYSE: MS
- Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
- Ted Pick
- Global Director of Research
- Katy Huberty
- Rating scale
- OverweightEqual-weightNot-RatedUnderweight12–18 months
- Website
- morganstanley.com
Research philosophy
When you look at equity markets over the past 30 years, a very small number of stocks drive all of the alpha.
Global Director of Research Katy Huberty says stocks that deliver outsized returns tend to be associated with broader investment themes. As of 2025, the department was using time saved through AI to expand thematic research across asset classes, aiming to identify those themes before the wider market. Analysts also use AlphaWise, the firm's proprietary alternative-data platform.
Rating methodology
Stocks are rated Overweight, Equal-weight, Not-Rated or Underweight relative to the analyst's industry coverage universe over 12–18 months, alongside Attractive, In-Line or Cautious industry views.
Coverage12M
Sectors
Most covered24M
| Stock | Rating | Target |
|---|---|---|
 NVIDIA CorporationNVDA | Underweight | $300 |
 CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc.CRWD | Overweight | $254 |
 Apple Inc.AAPL | Overweight | $364 |
 Ciena CorporationCIEN | Positive | $450 |
 IDACORP, Inc.IDA | Overweight | $143 |
 Morgan StanleyMS | Neutral | $215 |
 Marvell Technology, Inc.MRVL | Positive | $268 |
 SempraSRE | Overweight | $108 |
 Coherent, Inc.COHR | Equal Weight | $330 |
 Dell Technologies Inc.DELL | Equal Weight | $511 |
Most active analysts
- David Arcaro122 notesIDADTEAEE
- Michael Cyprys70 notesVCTRBLKWT
- Devin McDermott68 notesCOPMTDRFANG
- Bob Huang68 notesPGRMETHG
- James Faucette61 notesPYPLFISVAFRM
- Joseph Moore60 notesNVDAMRVLALAB
Recent actions
| Date | Stock | Rating action | Rating | Target | Analyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 22 | FEFerrovial SEFER | Reiterate | Overweight | ||
| Sep 22 | EFEFGSY | Reiterate | Overweight | ||
| Sep 22 |  Viking Therapeutics, Inc.VKTX | Reiterate | Overweight | ||
| Sep 22 |  Brinker International, Inc.EAT | Downgrade | Overweight →Underweight | ||
| Sep 22 | KMKinder Morgan, Inc.KMI | Target | $33 →$36 | ||
| Sep 22 | WBWarner Bros. Discovery, Inc.WBD | Reiterate | Positive | $29 →$31 | Sean Diffley |
| Sep 22 |  Paramount Skydance Corporation Class B Common StockPSKY | Reiterate | Overweight | $12 →$11.50 | |
| Sep 22 | WSWest Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.WST | Target | $365 →$400 | Kallum Titchmarsh | |
| Sep 22 |  Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)ERIC | Downgrade | Equal-Weight →Underweight | $9 | Terrance Tsul |