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

Morgan Stanley (MS) pushed the Financial Services industry higher today making it today's featured financial services winner. The industry as a whole closed the day up 2.1%. By the end of trading, Morgan Stanley rose 75 cents (5.8%) to $13.78 on light volume. Throughout the day, 20.6 million shares of Morgan Stanley exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 28.1 million shares. The stock ranged in a price between $13.31-$13.88 after having opened the day at $13.39 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $13.03. Other companies within the Financial Services industry that increased today were: Knight Capital Group (KCG), up 57%, Pzena Investment Management (PZN), up 16%, Epoch Holding Corporation (EPHC), up 11.4%, and Ladenburg Thalman Financial Services (LTS), up 7.6%.

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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 $26.72 billion and is part of the financial sector. The company has a P/E ratio of 7.2, below the average financial services industry P/E ratio of 27.6 and below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Shares are down 13.9% year to date as of the close of trading on Thursday. Currently there are 10 analysts that rate Morgan Stanley a buy, two analysts rate it a sell, and eight rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates Morgan Stanley as a hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its attractive valuation levels and notable return on equity. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including deteriorating net income, generally poor debt management and a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself.

• You can view the full Morgan Stanley Ratings Report.

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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