Bank of America bumped its Morgan Stanley price target to $225 from $220 and kept a buy rating — a notably bullish call that arrived the day after Morgan Stanley posted a record Q1. That $225 target sits roughly 20% above the stock’s current price of $190.70, making BofA one of the more optimistic voices on the street this week.
Why the optimism? Morgan Stanley’s April 15 Q1 report crushed estimates across the board:
- EPS: $3.43 vs. $3.02 consensus (+$0.41)
- Revenue: $20.58 billion vs. $19.23 billion expected (up 16% YoY)
- Return on tangible common equity: 27.1%
- Trading revenue: $5.15 billion, up 25% YoY on strong global equities volumes
- Investment banking revenue: $2.12 billion, up 36% YoY
CEO Ted Pick framed the results as a demonstration of Morgan Stanley’s integrated model: “Amidst increased geopolitical uncertainty, the firm generated a record quarter with revenues of $20.6 billion and EPS of $3.43. … The first quarter’s return on tangible of 27% evidences the operating leverage of Morgan Stanley’s business model, a leading wealth and asset manager alongside a leading global investment bank.”
How analysts are positioning themselves
- Barclays: $219 → $230 target (even higher than BofA)
- Keefe, Bruyette & Woods: $210 → $218, outperform
- Goldman Sachs: $186 → $205, maintained neutral
- Daiwa: trimmed to $175, neutral
- Wolfe Research & BMO Capital Markets: trimmed to $190, each still with an outperform
MarketBeat shows the street average target at $197.67, with ten buy ratings and twelve holds.
Capital returns and payout
Morgan Stanley also signaled shareholder-friendly capital returns: a $1.00 quarterly dividend (to be paid May 15), which annualizes to $4.00 and equates to a roughly 2.1% yield at current prices. Sell-side consensus looks for about $8.56 in EPS for the full fiscal year.
Other context for traders
- Current 52-week trading range: $104.78 – $194.59
- The run-up from the lows has left some analysts flagging valuation risk, but the buy-side remains cautiously constructive.
- For near-term market watchers and investors, BofA’s $225 target — among the higher street estimates — will be a key number to watch as analysts and investors digest the firm’s quarterly momentum and capital-return signals.
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