Morgan Stanley Stock Soars to Record High on 81.06% Surge in Daily Trading Volume Ranks 84th in Market Activity

Morgan Stanley (MS) closed August 12, 2025, with a 2.37% gain, trading at $145.48—a new all-time high. The stock’s $1.05 billion daily trading volume marked an 81.06% surge from the prior day, ranking it 84th in market activity. The rise follows a strategic focus on wealth and investment management, with the firm reporting a 16.92% year-over-year revenue increase and a P/E ratio of 16.1x.

Recent developments include Morgan Stanley’s role in arranging a $2 billion leveraged loan for IntraFi, enabling debt refinancing and dividend distributions. The firm also reported Q2 earnings of $2.13 per share, up 17% annually but down 18% sequentially, outperforming consensus estimates by 7.5%. Analyst activity has been mixed: Freedom Broker downgraded the stock to Hold with a $126 price target, while Evercore ISI raised its target to $150, citing strong performance in wealth and investment management. Citizens JMP reiterated a Market Perform rating, highlighting potential market share gains despite macroeconomic headwinds.

Strategic hires include Ashish Kumbhat from Bank of America to co-lead Morgan Stanley’s bank advisory group, reinforcing its M&A capabilities. The firm’s stock has maintained a 2.78% dividend yield, with a market capitalization of $231.7 billion. Analysts note the stock’s valuation as fairly priced, with 12 additional investment insights available to subscribers in a research report.

A strategy of purchasing the top 500 stocks by daily trading volume and holding them for one day yielded a $2,940 profit from December 2021 to August 2025. The approach recorded a 0.24% average daily return, a maximum drawdown of $1,960, a Sharpe ratio of 0.67, and a peak Sharpe ratio of 1.2 over the four-year period.