Banking and wealth management giant Morgan Stanley is having a good year. Its ratings are impressive, and its earnings growth rate have risen sharply this year. On Tuesday, Morgan Stanley stock's Relative Strength (RS) Rating moved into a higher percentile Tuesday, as it got a lift from 70 to 77.
Morgan Stanley Reverses To Big Gains
Morgan Stanley did an about-face at the beginning of 2024. After two quarters of lower profits at the end of 2023, it posted an EPS gain of 19% at the start of 2024 and then a 47% leap last quarter to $1.82 per share. It has reported double-digit revenue gains over the past four quarters. The growth rate has diminished from a 48% surge in the September 2023-ended quarter to a still-impressive 18% hike last quarter, to $26.5 billion.
The upgraded 77 RS Rating puts highly ranked Morgan Stanley in the top 23% of stocks for price performance this past year. It's a significant move because it's now just a few points below 80. Market research shows that top-performing growth stocks typically have an RS Rating north of 80 in the early stages of their moves.
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Among its other ratings Morgan Stanley has a compelling 90 Composite Rating, which shows the banking giant is in the top 10% of stocks overall. Additionally, the best growth stocks often have a 90 or higher Composite. It also boasts a strong 88 Earnings Per Share Rating and a B SMR Rating (sales + profit margins + return on equity) on an A-to-E scale with an A rating excellent and E dismal.
One yellow flag is its D+ Accumulation/Distribution Rating. That means funds are selling more of its shares than buying. Look for that to improve to a C or better rating.
Morgan Stanley stock is working on a consolidation with a 109.11 buy point. Its stock dropped to a 69.42 low on Oct. 30 as the market bottomed. Then it soared to a more-than-two-year high 109.11 high on July 19. It's consolidated recently amid the market correction and traded around 96 Tuesday afternoon.
Among Top 5 In Its Industry
Morgan Stanley holds the No. 4 rank among its peers in the 22-stock Banks-Money Centers industry group. Royal Bank of Canada is the No. 1-ranked stock in the group.
The proprietary IBD Relative Strength Rating identifies market leadership by using a 1 (worst) to 99 (best) score that indicates how a stock's price action over the trailing 52 weeks stacks up against all the other stocks in our database.
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