MSCI’s (MSCI) “Outperform” Rating Reiterated at Royal Bank of Canada

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by Royal Bank of Canada in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $675.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 14.14% from the company’s previous close.

MSCI has been the subject of several other reports. Wolfe Research raised MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $675.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of MSCI from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $680.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $649.23.

MSCI Stock Down 0.3 %

MSCI stock traded down $1.67 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $591.38. 113,827 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 447,601. MSCI has a 12-month low of $439.95 and a 12-month high of $642.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.89, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $606.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $581.51.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.22. MSCI had a net margin of 43.06% and a negative return on equity of 162.06%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.68 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that MSCI will post 14.99 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $612.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,777,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 330,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,456,251.20. The trade was a 0.89 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. LRI Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of MSCI by 120.0% during the third 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. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in MSCI during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in MSCI during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in shares of MSCI in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 35.1% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 77 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSCI Company Profile

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.