MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) Upgraded by Wolfe Research to “Outperform” Rating

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wolfe Research from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Marketbeat reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $690.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $638.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on MSCI from $640.00 to $662.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on MSCI from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $634.58.

MSCI Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $625.10 on Thursday. MSCI has a twelve month low of $439.95 and a twelve month high of $642.45. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $599.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $554.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.10.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.09. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 162.06% and a net margin of 43.06%. The company had revenue of $724.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $716.15 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.45 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MSCI will post 14.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $612.80 per share, with a total value of $1,777,120.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 330,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,456,251.20. This trade represents a 0.89 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MSCI

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB grew its stake in MSCI by 14.5% in the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 155,188 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $74,762,000 after acquiring an additional 19,660 shares during the period. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. acquired a new stake in MSCI in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,012,000. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in MSCI during the 2nd quarter valued at $390,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in MSCI by 274.1% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,212 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $584,000 after buying an additional 888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of MSCI in the second quarter valued at $1,715,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSCI Company Profile

MSCI Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides critical decision support tools and solutions for the investment community to manage investment processes worldwide. The Index segment provides indexes for use in various areas of the investment process, including indexed financial product, such as ETFs, mutual funds, annuities, futures, options, structured products, and over-the-counter derivatives; performance benchmarking; portfolio construction and rebalancing; and asset allocation, as well as licenses GICS and GICS Direct.