Displaying items by tag: Morgan Stanley

(New York)

Morgan Stanley has just put out a very bold prediction. The investment bank has picked a stock which it says will have a $1 tn market cap within a year. That stock is Microsoft. The stock current has a cap of around $740 bn and has risen more than 40% in the last year. But the big catalyst for a move higher is the success of its cloud computing division, Azure. Morgan Stanley summarizes its view this way, saying “Revenue drivers including Azure (Microsoft emerging as a public cloud winner), data center (share gains and positive pricing trends), Office 365 (base growth and per user pricing lift) and the integration of LinkedIn should drive durable double-digit revenue growth over the next three years”.

FINSUM: While bullish, this does not seem at all unlikely.

(New York)

Morgan Stanley has put out a unique list of stocks. The bank has published a piece outlining what it sees as the thirty best stocks for the medium term. The picks are based on having a sustainable competitive advantage and were viewed as having the best chance in this sideways-moving market. Some of the picks include: Accenture, Alphabet, BlackRock, BNY Mellon, Charles Schwab, Dollar General, JP Morgan, Microsoft, Salesforce.com.

FINSUM: This is a very interesting list, especially because it is cross-sector (which does not happen as much given the sector-first structure of equity research). It was also particularly useful that many of these names are in wealth or asset management, allowing advisors special insight.

(New York)

While stocks have seen some gains the last couple of days, the reality is that it was a very poor quarter. However, as the second quarter begins, stocks may be about to get a big boost. That boost will come in the form of a $400 bn dividend hike which will be delivered in April and May. “We think it is no coincidence that spring is also a seasonally strong period for equities … April in particular tends to be a strong month for global equity returns”, says Morgan Stanley.

FINSUM: This could be the shot in the arm that stocks need right now.

(New York)

Morgan Stanley has been making some interesting investments with its own account, with four stocks standing out. The bank increased its equity holdings in these companies enough to trigger regulatory filings. The four stocks are Greenlight Capital, Shake Shack, Overstock.com, and CGG. Greenlight Capital, David Einhorn’s fund, has not been this cheap since 2009 because of poor performance. Shake Shack is looking very healthy, and MS owns over 11%. Overstock skyrocketed in 2017 on blockchain hype, but has since lost a bunch this year; but MS’ seems to like the valuation, again increasing their holdings to over 11%.

FINSUM: What an interesting mix of stocks. It is also illuminating to see where banks are putting their own money.

(New York)

Morgan Stanley advisors look out, it appears the firm is sending a warning out to its wealth management force. According to Wealth Management, “Morgan Stanley in February filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction against a breakaway team in Farmington Hills, Mich. It was recently withdrawn. A lawyer for the breakaway team suggests that Morgan Stanley lawyers deliberately used the court filing, and prolonged the case, to make the conflict public and deter other breakaways”. One lawyer commenting on the moves says that Morgan Stanley is likely doing it to intimidate their current advisors into not jumping ship.

FINSUM: The end of the broker protocol made what was a tenuous environment into an all-out battlefield. This definitely seems like an intimidation tactic.