New York, June 13, 2026, 16:04 (EDT)
- Morgan Stanley ended Friday at $214.04, gaining 0.65%. The stock last changed hands at $214.40 in after-hours trade, near its 52-week peak of $219.16.
- JPMorgan bumped up its price target on Morgan Stanley to $187 from $179 but stuck with its Neutral rating. The target still sits under where the stock is now, showing a cautious take.
- Markets are waiting on the Federal Reserve’s bank stress-test results coming June 24 and Morgan Stanley’s second-quarter earnings, set for July 15.
Morgan Stanley shares ended higher on Friday as renewed interest in Wall Street banks and the SpaceX IPO pushed up the sector. The stock finished at $214.04, a 0.65% gain. It moved to $214.40 in after-hours trading, according to Google Finance. Morgan Stanley’s price sits close to its 52-week high of $219.16. The firm’s market cap is roughly $337.6 billion. The P/E ratio stands at 19.39, a common valuation measure comparing share price to earnings per share.
Morgan Stanley’s results move shares because the bank’s earnings rely on capital markets, with investment banking, trading, and wealth management key for revenue. Stocks gained Friday. The Dow added 0.7%, the S&P 500 climbed 0.5%, and the Nasdaq rose 0.3%, as SpaceX’s IPO took center stage. SpaceX sold shares at $135, started trading at $150 and ended above $160, raising $75 billion. Investopedia called it the largest IPO ever.
Morgan Stanley’s link to the deal stands out for bulls. Reuters said Morgan Stanley acted as SpaceX’s “stabilization agent,” giving it a key part in handling the surge of demand when the stock opened. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs were the main bankers on the IPO prospectus, according to Reuters. For Morgan Stanley holders, it’s not just about a fee from this IPO; it’s about the sign that big IPOs and new equity deals could be coming back, a boost for investment-banking revenue after choppy dealmaking. Reuters
Morgan Stanley started this stretch with solid numbers. The bank posted first-quarter net revenue of $20.6 billion and earnings per share of $3.43 in April, along with a return on tangible common equity of 27.1%. Chairman and CEO Ted Pick said it was “a record quarter.” Wealth Management saw net new assets of $118.4 billion. Institutional Securities got a boost from better investment banking, equities, and fixed-income. SEC
Valuation is the bear case for Morgan Stanley. JPMorgan raised its target to $187 from $179 on June 12, but that’s still lower than where shares finished Friday, and the firm stayed at Neutral, according to Benzinga’s analyst-tracking page. MarketScreener, pulling from analyst data, had the average target at $203.67—about 4.85% under the last close—even with an “Outperform” mean consensus. So analysts see the earnings momentum but aren’t all in after the recent rally. Benzinga
Stress test results coming soon for big banks. The Federal Reserve plans to put out its annual bank stress-test scores on June 24 at 4 p.m. EDT. The tests look at how well 32 of the largest banks could hold up against a deep recession and whether they have enough capital to deal with big losses. While the Fed said these results won’t directly change big-bank capital requirements this year, investors will be eyeing Morgan Stanley’s capital numbers—stronger capital means more flexibility for dividends, buybacks, and risk-taking.
Morgan Stanley’s bigger company-specific test lands July 15, with second-quarter numbers due out around 7:30 a.m. ET and the investor call set for 8:30 a.m. ET. The stock looks fairly valued to a bit risky these days, not clearly cheap. Bulls like Q1 profits, wealth management flows, and more IPOs. Bears see the shares trading near highs, above most analyst targets, and still tied to any drop in trading, dealmaking, or client asset values.
