March 27, 2025
Top 10 Stock Morgan Stanley Buy Recommendation
How to read the ranks
For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".
Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".
Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.
Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.
(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).
(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.
Snapshot: Morgan Stanley – Top 10 Stock in Dow Jones U.S. Investment Services Index
Morgan Stanley is listed as a top 10 stock on March 27, 2025 in the market index D.J. US Investing because of its high performance in at least one of the Obermatt investment strategies. While only half of the consolidated Obermatt Ranks exhibit above-average performance, the professional market sentiment is positive and it may be a solid investment proposition, especially if a growth recovery is to be expected soon. Based on the Obermatt 360° View of 52 (high 52% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall buy recommendation for Morgan Stanley on March 27, 2025.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
| Country | USA |
| Industry | Investment Banking & Brokerage |
| Index | Dividends USA, Employee Health US, D.J. US Investing, S&P 500 |
| Size class | XX-Large |
When Obermatt identifies the Top 10 stocks in a market, it’s based on a certain investment strategy. The best performing stocks usually aren’t the ones that everyone is talking about (those are often "over-priced" and have low Value ranks).
For each investment strategy, we provide you with more detailed analysis and our recommendation. You see the ranks of the top 10 stocks ranked by that particular investment strategy (360° View, Sentiment, Value, Growth, Safety and Combined Financial Performance).
360° View: Obermatt 360° View Morgan Stanley Buy
| 360 METRICS | March 27, 2025 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 69 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 43 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 38 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 61 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 52 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 52 (better than 52% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and financial characteristics for the stock Morgan Stanley are above average. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with half the metrics below and half above average for Morgan Stanley. The consolidated Value Rank has an attractive rank of 69, which means that the share price of Morgan Stanley is on the lower side compared with the typical size in indicators such as revenues, profits, and invested capital. This means that the stock price is lower than for 69% of alternative stocks in the same industry. The consolidated Sentiment Rank has a good rank of 61, which means that professional investors are more optimistic about the stock than for 61% of alternative investment opportunities. But the consolidated Growth Rank has a low rank of 43, which means that the company exhibits below-average growth momentum when looking at financial metrics such as revenue, profit, invested capital growth, and stock returns. The consolidated Safety Rank has a riskier rank of 38, meaning the company has a riskier financing structure than 62 comparable companies when looking at the amount of its debt, its refinancing requirements, and its ability to service debt. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated 360° View of 52, Morgan Stanley is better positioned than 52% of all alternative stock investment opportunities based on the Obermatt Method. Half of the consolidated Obermatt Ranks exhibit above-average performance, but the other half are below market levels. The company enjoys a good value (Value Rank of 69) and positive market sentiment in the professional investor community (Sentiment Rank of 61), but growth expectations are below-average (Growth Rank of 43) and the financing structure is on the risky side(Safety Rank of 38). This combination is rather dangerous, because high debt levels (low safety) require growth to finance the debt burden. The current low growth level may be temporary, because professionals are actually optimistic (positive sentiment). Good value is sometimes an indication that the company's future is challenging. The below-par growth performance may be the reason for this assessment. Companies with less growth typically have a lower price than fast-growing competitors. Even though professional investor sentiment is strong, we recommend further evaluating whether the future of Morgan Stanley is as challenging as the stock's low price suggests. Since the professional community is optimistic, the stock might just be going through a more challenging phase now, indicating that timing might be good now. ...read more
Sentiment Strategy: Professional Market Sentiment for Morgan Stanley positive
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 61 (better than 61% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock Morgan Stanley is above average. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Morgan Stanley. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 41 (worse than 59% of alternative investments), which means that currently, stock research analysts tend to warn against investing in the stock of the company. But they are changing their opinions! Analyst Opinions Change has a rank of 50, which indicates a shift in stock research experts opinions for the better. In other words, they are getting more optimistic about stock investments in Morgan Stanley. Even better, the Professional Investors rank is 58, meaning that professional investors hold more stock in this company than in 58% of alternative investment opportunities. Pros tend to favor investing in this company. Furthermore, Market Pulse has a rank of 72, which means that the current professional news and professional social networks are upbeat when discussing this company (more positive news than for 72% of competitors). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Sentiment Rank of 61 (more positive than 61% compared with investment alternatives), Morgan Stanley has a reputation among professional investors that is above-average compared with that of its competitors. While analysts are still critical of the company, some are changing their minds. In addition, the professional news channels are optimistic, and many institutional investors have already bought stock in the company. These are encouraging signals, despite the still lower level of analyst recommendations. They may be due to a problematic past, and about to change. The positive sentiment signals are stronger than the negative. ...read more
Value Strategy: Morgan Stanley Stock Price Value better than average
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 69 (better than 69% compared with alternatives), Morgan Stanley shares are more attractively priced than the majority of comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, where three out of four indicators are above average for Morgan Stanley. Price-to-Sales (P/S) is 51 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future sales is lower than for 51% of comparable companies, indicating a good value for Morgan Stanley's revenue size. The same is valid for the Price-to-Book Capital ratio (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Capital Rank of 65. Finally, compared with other companies in the same industry, dividend yields of Morgan Stanley are expected to be higher than for 69% of all competitors (a Dividend Yield rank of 69). The only low rank is for expected profits with a Price-to-Profit Rank of 49, indicating that the market expects the company's profit to be low despite a high dividend. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 69, is a buy recommendation based on Morgan Stanley's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. The low Profit Rank could result from a one-off charge, for instance, for an accident, a legal settlement, or a restructuring project. If the company keeps its dividends high, the low expected profit may be transitory. If that is the case, the three good value ranks for Sales, Capital, and Dividends are reliable indicators for good stock price value, a low stock price. ...read more
Growth Strategy: Morgan Stanley Growth Momentum low
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 43 (better than 43% compared with alternatives), Morgan Stanley shows a below-average growth dynamic in its industry. There is limited momentum in this company. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with three out of four indicators below average for Morgan Stanley. Sales Growth has a below market rank of 32, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow less than 68% of its competitors. The same is valid for Capital Growth, with a rank of 41, and Profit Growth, with a rank of 34. Currently, professionals expect the company to grow its profits less than 66% of its competitors). Only shareholders are optimistic. Stock Returns are above average at a rank of 71, which means that the stock returns have recently been above 71% of alternative investments. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 43, is a hold recommendation for growth and momentum investors. That picture may be the result for a company that has reached the bottom. All went south for Morgan Stanley, and it still looks bad, but some investors already see light at the end of the tunnel, rewarding the stock with recent above-market stock returns. It could also mean that investors are correcting an overreaction to negative news. If that were the case, the positive stock returns are not yet a sign of recovery. Investors should look closely at the Value and Sentiment indicators before they make a stock purchasing decision, because growth is unlikely to be the driving argument behind this investment. ...read more
Safety Strategy: Morgan Stanley Debt Financing Safety below-average
| SAFETY METRICS | March 27, 2025 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 13 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 95 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 10 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 38 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 38 (better than 38% compared with alternatives), the company Morgan Stanley has financing practices on the riskier side, which means that their overall debt burden is above the industry average. This doesn't mean that the business of Morgan Stanley is also risky, it only means that the company is on the riskier side in respect to bankruptcy in case things turn sour, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with just one indicator above average for Morgan Stanley and the other two below average. Refinancing is at 95, meaning the portion of the debt about to be refinanced is below average. It has less debt in the refinancing stage than 95% of its competitors. But Leverage is high with a rank of 13, meaning the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 87% of its competitors. Liquidity is also on the riskier side with a rank of 10, meaning the company generates less profit to service its debt than 90% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 38 (worse than 62% compared with alternatives), Morgan Stanley has a financing structure that is riskier than that of its competitors. A good Refinancing Rank means that the problems of the company may not be around the corner. But high Leverage is only good if things go well, and low Liquidity is a signal for caution. The financing signals for Morgan Stanley are on the riskier side, requiring the company's future to be on the safer side. Investors may want to look at Growth and Sentiment ranks before making an investment decision. ...read more
Combined financial peformance: Morgan Stanley Above-Average Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | March 27, 2025 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 69 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 43 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 10 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 53 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 53 (better than 53% compared with investment alternatives), Morgan Stanley (Investment Banking & Brokerage, USA) shares have above-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Morgan Stanley are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 69 (better than 69% of alternatives) but show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 43), and are riskily financed (Safety Rank of 38), which means above-average debt burdens. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 53, is a buy recommendation based on Morgan Stanley's financial characteristics. As the company Morgan Stanley's key financial metrics exhibit good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 69) but low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 43) and risky financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 38), it may be a risky investment, because debt in times of crises can make things worse. The good value, better than 69% of comparable companies, may indicate the company's future is challenging. If you believe that low growth is temporary or just due to a specific current event, you may conclude that the good value of the stock provides an attractive investment opportunity. ...read more
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