Jefferies Financial price target lowered to $54 from $55 at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley lowered the firm’s price target on Jefferies Financial (JEF) to $54 from $55 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares after the company reported EPS of 40c, which compares to consensus of 44c and a firm estimate of 39c. The quarter itself had some “pushes and pulls,” with activity improving in May, who is lowering the firm’s price target by $1 primarily on lower fixed income trading revenues. The firm expects stock action to be “choppy” today as the market digests the mixed quarter, the analyst added.