Morgan Stanley's stock price increased by 6% after the company released its fourth quarter financial results. The investment bank reported revenue of $17.89 billion and earnings per share of $2.68 for the period.
These figures surpassed analyst predictions, which had estimated $17.77 billion in revenue and $2.44 per share. The earnings announcement came in January, shortly after Keefe Bruyette raised its price target for Morgan Stanley shares from $202 to $210 while maintaining an Outperform rating.
CEO Ted Pick stated that the positive results stemmed from the bank's multi-year investments finally producing returns. Television commentator Jim Cramer had previously suggested that Morgan Stanley's earnings might show "fireworks" and noted the company's "extraordinary" asset gathering efforts.
Following the report, Cramer commented on the CEO's performance, saying "You know Ted is, Ted Pick is doing a great job. Remember my thesis, they've been taken down? Well because people just say, you know what, this group is not, these aren't semis, this is not AI, it's not semiconductors, in the end, it's finance and these stocks are up 35%."
Morgan Stanley shares have gained 37% over the past twelve months and 3.9% since the beginning of the current year. The company remains one of the world's largest investment banking institutions.