Analyst Patrick O’Shaughnessy of Raymond James maintained a Buy rating on MSCI, boosting the price target to $690.00.
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Patrick O’Shaughnessy has given his Buy rating due to a combination of factors that point to both near-term strength and long-term value creation for MSCI. He highlights that robust equity market performance and healthy ETF inflows have lifted assets under management linked to MSCI indices more than previously anticipated, supporting stronger asset-based fee revenue. At the same time, he notes that sales trends have stabilized and recent investments in new solutions and client segments position the company for an improving growth trajectory in coming quarters. O’Shaughnessy also underscores MSCI’s durable competitive advantages, including strong pricing power and proprietary benchmark data sets, which are reinforced by the structural shift toward passive investing.
O’Shaughnessy’s financial modeling reflects higher forward revenue and out-year EPS expectations, driven mainly by stronger asset-based fee growth, even though near-term EPS estimates remain unchanged due to higher interest expense from a recent bond issuance. He expects the additional debt capital to be used for share repurchases, providing another lever for earnings per share growth over time. Based on a blended valuation approach using both a price-to-earnings framework and discounted cash flow analysis, he derives a target price that implies MSCI should continue to command a premium multiple relative to the broader market. In his view, the current share price offers an attractive entry point, with a favorable balance between upside potential and risk, justifying the Buy rating.
According to TipRanks, O’Shaughnessy is a 4-star analyst with an average return of 3.2% and a 56.45% success rate. O’Shaughnessy covers the Financial sector, focusing on stocks such as Charles Schwab, SEI Investments Company, and MSCI.
In another report released on January 6, Deutsche Bank also maintained a Buy rating on the stock with a $0.00 price target.