Morgan Stanley Stock Today, November 24, 2025: Analyst Upgrade, Cyberattack Fallout and What It Means for MS Shareholders

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) starts the new trading week in the spotlight after a fresh analyst upgrade and growing headlines around a major mortgage-data cyberattack that may have exposed client information at several Wall Street giants.

As of U.S. pre‑market trading on Monday, November 24, 2025, Morgan Stanley shares are changing hands around $160.39, up from Friday’s close of $158.17, implying a gain of roughly 1.4% before the opening bell. ^[1]

At the same time, a new bullish call from Wolfe Research and ongoing news about a vendor data breach are shaping the narrative around Morgan Stanley stock today.

Key Takeaways on Morgan Stanley Stock (MS) – 24 November 2025

Pre‑market bounce: MS is trading near $160.39 in pre‑market hours, versus Friday’s close at $158.17, after dropping 0.33% at the end of last week. ^[2]
Fresh upgrade: Wolfe Research has upgraded Morgan Stanley to “Outperform” from “Peerperform” and set a price target of $198, well above current levels. ^[3]
Cyberattack overhang: A hack at mortgage‑tech vendor SitusAMC may have exposed client data from JPMorgan, Citi and Morgan Stanley, prompting FBI involvement and internal reviews. ^[4]
Active in capital markets: Morgan Stanley is appearing in a string of regulatory filings, including disclosures related to Qualcomm, On the Beach Group, and several structured and bond products due on 24 November 2025. ^[5]
Analyst consensus still positive: Across Wall Street, MS carries a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average 12‑month price target around $168.23, implying mid‑single‑digit upside from current prices. ^[6]
Macro backdrop: Morgan Stanley’s own strategist Michael Wilson says the recent U.S. stock market pullback looks close to a bottom and views further weakness as a buying opportunity into 2026. ^[7]

Morgan Stanley Share Price on November 24, 2025

Where the stock stands

Last official close (Friday, Nov 21): $158.17, down 0.33% on the day. ^[8]
Pre‑market today (Monday, Nov 24): about $160.39, with modest volume of just over 7,000 shares changing hands before the open. ^[9]
52‑week range:
- High: $171.77 (reached on November 12, 2025)
- Low: $94.33 (on April 7, 2025) ^[10]

That means Morgan Stanley is currently trading below its recent record high but still far above its spring lows, reflecting both the 2025 rebound in dealmaking and the volatility that’s hit financial stocks in recent weeks.

Over the last 12 months, Morgan Stanley has delivered roughly 20% total return, and is up more than 25% year‑to‑date when dividends are included. ^[11]

Recent trading behavior

On Friday (Nov 21), MS slipped from $158.70 to $158.17, a relatively mild decline, but the stock swung in a wide intraday range between roughly $155 and $160, underlining heightened volatility in the financial sector. ^[12]

Despite those swings, the pre‑market move higher this morning suggests investors are initially reacting more to the bullish research call than to the negative sentiment around the cyberattack headlines.

Analyst Upgrade: Wolfe Research Turns Bullish on MS

The biggest stock‑specific catalyst for Morgan Stanley today is a rating upgrade from Wolfe Research.

Wolfe Research analyst Steven Chubak upgraded Morgan Stanley from “Peerperform” to “Outperform”. ^[13]
The firm set a new price target of $198 per share, implying upside of about 23–25% from the high‑$150s. ^[14]
The upgrade note follows a period in which MS has underperformed some high‑beta growth stocks but has outpaced many peers over the past year.

While the full details of the report sit behind paywalls, the move essentially signals that Wolfe now expects Morgan Stanley to outperform its large‑cap financial peer group over the next 12 months.

This upgrade lands on top of an already constructive Street view:

According to MarketBeat data, 19 analysts currently cover Morgan Stanley.
The consensus rating is “Moderate Buy”, with an average price target around $168.23. ^[15]

In other words, Wolfe’s new $198 target stands well above the Street’s average, reinforcing the idea that some research desks now see Morgan Stanley as a higher‑beta way to play a rebound in global dealmaking and trading.

Cyberattack at SitusAMC: A Data‑Security Overhang

Balancing the positive analyst news is a more worrying headline: a major data breach at mortgage‑technology vendor SitusAMC.

What happened?

On November 12, SitusAMC suffered a cyberattack that compromised some of its systems and potentially exposed data related to residential mortgage dealings. ^[16]
Over the weekend and into Monday, multiple outlets reported that client data for JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley may have been caught up in the incident. ^[17]
The vendor has said that records such as accounting documents and legal contracts tied to certain clients may be affected, and it has been working with law enforcement, including the FBI, which is investigating the breach. ^[18]

Morgan Stanley itself has not yet detailed the scope of any data that might involve its customers. The bank is one of many institutions assessing what, if anything, was exposed and how to communicate with affected clients if needed. ^[19]

Market reaction so far

Given the pre‑market uptick in MS shares, investors appear to be treating the breach as a reputational and compliance risk rather than an existential threat at this stage. There has been no reported impact on core banking operations or trading systems, and the service provider says its systems are now fully operational. ^[20]

However, this incident underscores a broader theme for large financial institutions: even when core systems are secure, third‑party vendors can create vulnerabilities that regulators and investors are watching more closely.

Capital Markets Activity: Qualcomm, On the Beach and More

Beyond the headlines, Morgan Stanley is also appearing in a flurry of regulatory and transaction‑related filings on November 24.

Qualcomm takeover activity

In London, Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc filed a Form 8.5 (EPT/RI) related to Qualcomm Inc. and Aqua Acquisition Sub LLC, indicating trading activity in the context of a takeover situation under the U.K. Takeover Code. ^[21]

These forms show Morgan Stanley’s role as an exempt principal trader dealing in Qualcomm securities on behalf of clients, highlighting the bank’s ongoing prominence in cross‑border M&A and advisory work.

New major holding in On the Beach Group

Morgan Stanley has also disclosed a notifiable holding in U.K. online travel company On the Beach Group PLC:

A TR‑1 notification filed today reveals Morgan Stanley’s voting interest has ticked up to about 6.08% of the company’s voting rights, slightly above a previous notification. ^[22]

While small in the context of Morgan Stanley’s global balance sheet, this kind of filing signals the bank’s continued activity in European consumer and travel names, often via structured positions, derivatives or prime brokerage relationships.

Trading disclosure in Avadel Pharmaceuticals

Another filing today involves Avadel Pharmaceuticals:

Morgan Stanley disclosed trading activity in Avadel shares, as reported in an Investing.com company‑news item dated November 24. ^[23]

Such disclosures are routine but contribute to the picture of Morgan Stanley remaining deeply involved in health‑care and biotech capital markets, sectors where specialist research and dealmaking can drive profitable advisory and trading revenue.

Structured products, metals and maturing bonds

Several other documents tie back to Morgan Stanley’s funding and structured‑product machinery:

iShares Physical Metals Plc has issued final terms dated November 24, 2025, under a precious‑metal‑linked securities programme where Morgan Stanley entities play a key structuring and distribution role. ^[24]
A 5% Morgan Stanley USD bond maturing on November 24, 2025—with an outstanding amount of $2 billion—is listed as coming due today, potentially affecting the bank’s near‑term funding mix. ^[25]

Individually, none of these filings are blockbuster events, but together they reinforce Morgan Stanley’s position as a central player in global capital markets, from corporate takeovers to structured ETFs and fixed‑income funding.

Strategy View: Morgan Stanley’s Michael Wilson Says “Buy the Pullback”

Overlaying all of this is the broader macro view coming from inside the bank itself.

Morgan Stanley’s high‑profile U.S. equity strategist Michael Wilson has been speaking out about the recent volatility in the stock market:

In a new note highlighted by Bloomberg, Wilson argues that the recent U.S. equity selloff is likely nearing its end, and that he remains bullish on 2026 as a year of further gains. ^[26]
Additional coverage from MarketWatch and Yahoo Finance shows Wilson doubling down on his “buy‑the‑dip” stance, noting that a large share of individual stocks have already seen double‑digit drawdowns beneath the surface of the indices. ^[27]

For Morgan Stanley shareholders, that messaging cuts two ways:

Positive sentiment driver: When the bank’s own strategists are publicly arguing that equities are closer to a bottom than a top, it can support appetite for cyclical financial names like MS during pullbacks.
Execution risk: If the macro call proves wrong and markets suffer a deeper correction, trading and investment‑banking revenues could be affected, and investors may punish the stock for being too optimistic.

Still, Wilson’s more constructive tone aligns with the Wolfe Research upgrade, helping frame Morgan Stanley as a relatively attractive way to participate in any late‑2025 or 2026 equity recovery.

How Wall Street Values Morgan Stanley Right Now

Looking beyond today’s headlines, analysts have grown steadily more constructive on Morgan Stanley over the course of 2025, particularly after a strong third quarter.

Earnings backdrop

In October, Morgan Stanley reported third‑quarter results that beat market expectations, with:

Record revenue, helped by a 44% surge in investment‑banking income and strong performance in equities trading. ^[28]

CEO Ted Pick and CFO Sharon Yeshaya pointed to a reviving IPO and M&A pipeline, and even suggested that deal volumes in the coming year could challenge the record levels seen in 2021 if current momentum holds. ^[29]

Those results help explain why, despite big swings in daily price action, MS is still delivering double‑digit total returnsover the past year and has outperformed many diversified bank peers.

Street consensus and upside

Today’s Wolfe Research upgrade doesn’t exist in a vacuum:

The average 12‑month price target from major brokers sits around $168.23, implying modest upside from where MS is trading in the high‑$150s to low‑$160s. ^[30]
Price‑target dispersion is wide, with bulls seeing as high as $186 and more cautious analysts closer to $131, reflecting different views on how sustainable the investment‑banking rebound will be. ^[31]

Add in Wolfe’s newly aggressive $198 target, and the upper end of bullish scenarios envisions Morgan Stanley shares revisiting and surpassing recent highs if capital markets stay active and credit conditions remain benign. ^[32]

What to Watch Next for Morgan Stanley Stock

For readers tracking Morgan Stanley stock on November 24, 2025, here are the main storylines to watch over the coming days and weeks:

Cybersecurity and regulatory response
- Any formal statement from Morgan Stanley quantifying its exposure to the SitusAMC breach, including whether personal client data was accessed and how the bank plans to respond. ^[33]
- Possible regulatory commentary from U.S. or global watchdogs on third‑party vendor risk in the banking sector.
Market reaction to the Wolfe upgrade
- Whether today’s rating change leads to sustained buying interest or proves to be a short‑lived catalyst in a still‑choppy market. ^[34]
Macro headlines and Fed expectations
- Morgan Stanley’s strategists are leaning toward a buy‑the‑dip narrative, but markets remain highly sensitive to Federal Reserve rate‑cut expectations and incoming economic data. ^[35]
Capital‑markets pipeline
- Follow‑through on M&A and equity issuance, including deals related to names like Qualcomm, as well as broader IPO and leveraged‑finance activity that can materially influence Morgan Stanley’s quarterly earnings. ^[36]
Balance‑sheet and funding developments
- The maturity of the $2 billion, 5% bond due today and ongoing structured‑products issuance under precious‑metals programmes signal normal funding operations, but investors will stay alert for any change in the bank’s cost of capital. ^[37]

Bottom Line

On November 24, 2025, Morgan Stanley stock is caught between a supportive analyst backdrop and a new cybersecurity overhang:

A bullish upgrade and positive internal macro commentary are pushing sentiment in a constructive direction.
A high‑profile vendor data breach is a reminder that even top‑tier banks face ongoing operational and reputational risks in a highly networked financial system.

For investors and traders following MS today, the key question is whether earnings momentum and rising deal activitycan more than offset periodic shocks—from cyber incidents to market pullbacks—over the next 12 months.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Always do your own research or consult a qualified financial professional before making investment decisions.

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