Shares in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) have made losses since the middle of March, like financial shares in general. Morgan Stanley’s earnings report for Q1 is expected on Thursday, Apr. 14, pre-market. The consensus EPS based on seven estimates is $1.80, ranging between $1.59 and $2.07. Like JPM, expectations have declined recently, with four of these estimates having downward revisions in the last month.
Morgan Stanley arguably looks more attractive than other major financials because while its PE is still only around 11, the price of the shares is significantly lower than most equivalents. Investors predicting good results for banks in Q2 and Q3 might favor this relative underdog.
The technical picture for MS is similar to JPM, with the important exception that one can observe selling saturation based on the slow stochastic as the price has touched Mar. 18’s low around $83. If there’s a bounce around earnings, the 50 SMA around $93 might be in sight over the next few weeks. MS has beaten the estimates for earnings by at least a few cents for four quarters running.