Morgan Stanley marginally beats Q4 revenue expectations

Overview

• Investment bank's Q4 revenue slightly beat analyst expectations

• Company reports 47% rise in investment banking net revenue

• EPS rises to $2.68 from $2.22; net income jumps to $4.4 bln from $3.71 bln

Outlook

• Morgan Stanley did not provide specific future guidance

Result Drivers

• INVESTMENT BANKING GROWTH - Investment Banking net revenues rose 47% due to higher completed M&A transactions across all regions

• WEALTH MANAGEMENT INCREASE - Wealth Management net revenues increased 13% driven by higher markets and strong fee-based flows

• FIXED INCOME DECLINE - Fixed Income net revenues fell 9% due to lower results in commodities and foreign exchange

Key Details

*Applies to a deviation of less than 1%; not applicable for per-share numbers.

Analyst Coverage

• The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 10 "strong buy" or "buy", 15 "hold" and no "sell" or "strong sell"

• The average consensus recommendation for the investment banking & brokerage services peer group is "buy"

• Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Morgan Stanley is $190.00, about 5.1% above its January 14 closing price of $180.78

• The stock recently traded at 17 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 17 three months ago

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