Morgan Stanley Reiterates Equal-Weight on Ameriprise (AMP)

Morgan Stanley is out with its report today on Ameriprise AMP, reiterating equal-weight. In a note to clients, Morgan Stanley writes, "We continue to view Ameriprise as an attractive asset accumulation play, with solid margin expansion and capital management being the key drivers of stronger returns on equity. This quarter's results were arguably a little light of consensus expectations, but we remain confident that the company remains on track to hit a mid‐teens ROE by 2012. That said, to justify further meaningful upside in the stock, we believe the company needs to show stronger progress in improving its asset management flows, where the company had $5.3 billion of outflows in the quarter. Accordingly, while we would be buyers of the stock below $60, we are presently reiterating our Equal- weight rating at the current stock price." Shares of AMP closed Monday at $62.62.