JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) Stock

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) had its price objective boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $680.00 to $700.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the technology company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 14.33% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research raised MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $638.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $617.00 to $723.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $690.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on MSCI from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MSCI currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $649.85.

MSCI Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of MSCI opened at $612.25 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $604.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $576.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.11. MSCI has a 1-year low of $439.95 and a 1-year high of $642.45.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.45 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that MSCI will post 14.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 2,900 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $612.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,777,120.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 330,379 shares in the company, valued at $202,456,251.20. This trade represents a 0.89 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LRI Investments LLC increased its position in MSCI by 120.0% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 44 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in MSCI in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in MSCI in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in MSCI in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp increased its position in MSCI by 35.1% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 77 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About MSCI

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.