Morgan StanleyMSBUYDec 14, 2023Stock price when the opinion was issued
As of Oct 23, 2026. Market Open.
After reporting, shares fell 1.8% and down 2.8% today. They just reported: revenues beat, investment and trading were up 18%, also beating, equities were strong, though fixed income missed. Wealth management grew 10% and beat, and investment beat though fell 12%. Problem is, investors are worried about inflation.
Mergers are increasing, and banks like MS makes advisory fees from them. Also, the banks have been rallying since oil slumped, and will benefit further from rising interest rates, which appears will happen later this year. Plus, hyperscalers may need to keep borrowing money to keep competing with each other.
Likes the money centre banks. Will do well with a normalized yield curve, as it enhances net interest margins. Fed signalling interest rates coming down should depress the short end of the curve, with the long end maintaining itself somewhat.
The group is trading at about a 30% discount to normalized valuations of around 13.5x earnings. That carries through to book value, trading at discounts to historical norms. He owns JPM, BAC, and MS, and that's where he'd put money.