Morgan Stanley (MS): Today's Featured Financial Services Laggard

Morgan Stanley (MS) pushed the Financial Services industry lower today making it today's featured Financial Services laggard. The industry as a whole closed the day down 0.8%. By the end of trading, Morgan Stanley fell 74 cents (-5.3%) to $13.24 on heavy volume. Throughout the day, 60.2 million shares of Morgan Stanley exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 28.3 million shares. The stock ranged in price between $13-$13.73 after having opened the day at $13.49 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $13.99. Other company's within the Financial Services industry that declined today were: Teucrium Agricultural Fund (TAGS), down 10.9%, Pzena Investment Management (PZN), down 9%, Cohen & Steers (CNS), down 8.9%, and GFI Group (GFIG), down 8.2%.

• ACTIVE STOCK TRADERS: Check out TheStreet's special offer for Real Money, headlined by Jim Cramer, now!

Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals worldwide. Morgan Stanley has a market cap of $28.36 billion and is part of the financial sector. The company has a P/E ratio of 20.5, below the average financial services industry P/E ratio of 29.3 and above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Shares are down 5.2% year to date as of the close of trading on Wednesday. Currently there are nine analysts that rate Morgan Stanley a buy, three analysts rate it a sell, and eight rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates Morgan Stanley as a hold. Among the primary strengths of the company is its generally strong cash flow from operations. At the same time, however, we also find weaknesses including a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself, feeble growth in the company's earnings per share and deteriorating net income.

• You can view the full Morgan Stanley Ratings Report.

On the positive front, KKR (KKR), up 3.7%, Mesabi (MSB), up 3.4%, Newtek Business Services (NEWT), up 2.8%, and MarketAxess Holdings (MKTX), up 2.7%, were all gainers within the financial services industry with Blackstone Group (BX) being today's featured financial services industry leader.

• Use our financial services section to find industry-relevant news.
• Or find some new ideas from our top rated stocks lists.

For investors not wanting singular stock exposure, ETFs may be of interest. Investors who are bullish on the financial services industry could consider Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) while those bearish on the financial services industry could consider Proshares Short Financials (SEF).

• Find other investment ideas from our top rated ETFs lists.

For more information on Morgan Stanley click any of the following:

• Morgan Stanley Stock Price

• Morgan Stanley Analyst Ratings

• Morgan Stanley Key Stats & Profile

• Morgan Stanley Earnings

• Morgan Stanley Ratio Comparison

• Morgan Stanley Growth Rates

• Morgan Stanley Balance Sheet

• Morgan Stanley Cash Flow

• Morgan Stanley Income Statement