Morgan Stanley downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler analyst Jeffrey Harte downgraded Morgan Stanley to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $59, up from $56. The shares closed Thursday up $3.50 to $56.44. The stock rallied after reporting a strong earnings beat and seeing management raise the bar on its financial targets, Harte tells investors in a post-earnings research note. However, the analyst says the recent appreciation has "meaningfully narrowed the gap" between the stock's valuation and underlying fundamentals. He cites valuation for the downgrade of Morgan Stanley to Neutral.