June 5, 2025
Top 10 Stock Morgan Stanley Hold 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 Employee Health Leaders in the United States
Morgan Stanley is listed as a top 10 stock on June 05, 2025 in the market index Employee Health US because of its high performance in at least one of the Obermatt investment strategies. Only the Obermatt Value Rank exhibits above-average performance, which means that the stock is seen as critical by the professional community and other financial facts are below average, conveying mixed investment signals. Based on the Obermatt 360° View of 31 (31% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall hold recommendation for Morgan Stanley on June 05, 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 Hold
| 360 METRICS | June 5, 2025 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 63 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 41 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 28 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 47 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 31 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 31 (better than 31% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and financial characteristics for the stock Morgan Stanley are below the industry average. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with three out of four indicators below average for Morgan Stanley. Only the consolidated Value Rank has an attractive rank of 63, 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 63% of alternative stocks in the same industry. All other consolidated ranks are below average. The consolidated Growth Rank has a low rank of 41, which means that the company exhibits below-average growth momentum when looking at financial metrics such as revenue, profit, and invested capital growth as well as stock returns. The consolidated Safety Rank has a riskier rank of 28, meaning the company has a riskier financing structure than 72% comparable companies when looking at the amount of its debt, its refinancing requirements, and its ability to service debt. Finally, professionals are more pessimistic about the stock than for 53% of alternative investment opportunities, reflected in the consolidated Sentiment Rank of 47. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated 360° View of 31, Morgan Stanley is worse than 69% of all alternative stock investment opportunities based on the Obermatt Method. Only one of the consolidated Obermatt Ranks exhibits above-average performance, namely the Value Rank at a level of 63. All other ranks are below average, so proceed with caution. The company has below-average growth expectations (Growth Rank of 41), a riskier financing structure than the competition (Safety Rank of 28), and the market sentiment in the professional investor community ranking at (Sentiment Rank of 47) is negative. This combination is sensitive to a crisis, because high debt levels (low safety) require growth to finance the debt burden. It’s no wonder that the investor community indicators are skeptical (low 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. We recommend evaluating whether the future of Morgan Stanley is as challenging as the low price of the stock suggests. Since the professional community is pessimistic, you might need to worry about the future of Morgan Stanley. Only invest if you have solid reasons to believe that the low growth is temporary and the current market sentiment is an overreaction, possibly due to reputational issues in the past. ...read more
Sentiment Strategy: Professional Market Sentiment for Morgan Stanley only reserved
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 47 (better than 47% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock Morgan Stanley is below industry 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 79, meaning that professional investors hold more stock in this company than in 79% of alternative investment opportunities. Pros tend to favor investing in this company. Furthermore, Market Pulse has a rank of 54, which means that the current professional news and professional social networks are upbeat when discussing this company (more positive news than for 54% of competitors). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Sentiment Rank of 47 (less encouraging than 53% compared with investment alternatives), Morgan Stanley has a reputation among professional investors that is below 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 63 (better than 63% 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, with half of the indicators below and half above average for Morgan Stanley. Expected dividend yields are higher than for 69% of comparable companies (a Dividend Yield rank of 69), making the stock attractive. The same is valid for Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Book Rank of 60, which means that the stock price is lower compared with invested capital than for 60% of comparable investments. But in respect to sales and profits, the picture is reversed. Price-to-Sales is 49 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is higher than for 51% of comparable companies, indicating a low value concerning Morgan Stanley's sales levels. The Price-to-Profit ratio (also referred to as price-earnings (P/E) ratio) is also unfavorable for Morgan Stanley with a rank of 49. This means that the stock price, compared with what market professionals expect for future profits, is higher than for 51% of comparable companies, indicating a low value concerning Morgan Stanley's profit levels. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 63, is a buy recommendation based on Morgan Stanley's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. The company seems confident that it can generate a reasonable return on invested capital, because it pays an above-average dividend while profits are below what you would expect for a company with this stock price. If you agree with this practice and believe that profits will return to higher levels, as the current dividend policy suggests, Morgan Stanley may be an attractive investment. If this is not the case, you may want to be careful with this stock as it is also expensive compared with its expected revenue levels. ...read more
Growth Strategy: Morgan Stanley Growth Momentum low
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 41 (better than 41% 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 half of the indicators below and half above average for Morgan Stanley. Profit Growth has a rank of 60, which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow its profits more than 60% of its competitors. This is a good sign for shareholders, which is confirmed by an above-average Stock Returns rank of 83 (above 83% of alternative investments). But Sales Growth has a below the median rank of 22, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow less than 78% of its competitors, and Capital Growth also has a lower rank of 37. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 41, is a hold recommendation for growth and momentum investors. Because revenues and invested capital are the more solid growth indicators, the positive development on the profit side is less relevant. It may have been caused by cost-cutting, which may be a negative growth indicator. Finally, the above-average stock returns recently are a thing of the past and not a good indicator of future returns. Investors should be confident that the cost-cutting initiative leading to higher profits is to benefit the company's future. If not, there is little growth momentum, and investment is only advisable if the Value Ranks suggest a good investment timing for Morgan Stanley. ...read more
Safety Strategy: Morgan Stanley Debt Financing Safety below-average
| SAFETY METRICS | June 5, 2025 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 13 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 95 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 6 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 28 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 28 (better than 28% 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 6, meaning the company generates less profit to service its debt than 94% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 28 (worse than 72% 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 Below-Average Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | June 5, 2025 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 63 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 41 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 6 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 35 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 35 (worse than 65% compared with investment alternatives), Morgan Stanley (Investment Banking & Brokerage, USA) shares have somewhat below-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Morgan Stanley are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 63 (better than 63% of alternatives) but show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 41), and are riskily financed (Safety Rank of 28), which means above-average debt burdens. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 35, is a hold recommendation based on Morgan Stanley's financial characteristics. As the company Morgan Stanley's key financial metrics exhibit good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 63) but low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 41) and risky financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 28), it may be a risky investment, because debt in times of crises can make things worse. The good value, better than 63% 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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