Golden Cross Emerges For Morgan Stanley Stock On Q4 Earnings Beat Despite Analyst Downgrades

Morgan Stanley MS stock beat on EPS and revenue as it reported its fourth-quarter earnings on Jan. 16.

Buoyed by positive sentiments around the company, the stock just made a Golden Cross on the technical price charts.

On Jan. 18, the 50-day SMA for Morgan Stanley stock crossed over the 200-day SMA, indicating bullish sentiments overriding bearish ones.

Being a momentum indicator, the golden cross indicates that prices are continuously increasing—gaining momentum. It is interpreted by analysts and traders as signaling a definitive upward turn in a market.

Per its earnings report, Morgan Stanley’s Q4 EPS of $1.13 beat consensus by 22.83%, while revenue of $12.90 billion beat consensus by 10.89%. The beat came in despite a profit drop.

Morgan Stanley’s Q4 profit dropped to $1.5 billion (compared to $2.2 billion in Q4 2022) due to higher wealth management costs and a $249 million regulatory settlement.

Related: Morgan Stanley’s Earnings: Q4 Beats Revenue Estimates Despite Profit Decline

Analysts, who reviewed the stock after the earnings report either downgraded or maintained their ratings on the stock, with three of four analysts cutting their price target for Morgan Stanley stock.

• Oppenheimer’s Chris Kotowski maintained Outperform while reducing his price target to $106.
• BMO Capital’s James Fotheringham maintained Outperform rating with a price target of $107.
• David Konrad of Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded he stock from Outperform to Market Perform while reducing price target from $102 to $91 a share.
• JP Morgan’s Kian Abouhossein downgraded from Overweight to Neutral, and the price target from$94 to $87.

The Golden Cross just made should infuse confidence among Morgan Stanley investors.

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