Earnings Preview: Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (MS) is expected to report Q3 earnings before market open Wednesday, September 17, with a conference call scheduled for 11:00 am ET.

Guidance

Analysts are looking for EPS of 77c on revenue of $6.28B. The consensus range for EPS is 63c to 94c, while the consensus range for revenue is $5.81B to $6.81B, according to First Call.

Analyst Views

Citigroup on September 15 downgraded Morgan Stanley to Hold from Buy as the firm expects the company's stock to come under pressure in the near term. However, Citigroup added that it still considers Morgan Stanley's franchise to be valuable. Buckingham downgraded the firm to Accumulate from Strong Buy. Meanwhile, a number of analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley would seek to combine forces with a commercial bank.

Ladenburg's Dick Bove predicted that Morgan would be forced to attempt to "develop core deposits" by buying a bank or selling itself to one. Bove believes it is more likely that Morgan Stanley will purchase a bank. CNBC's Charlie Gasparino said his sources are hearing that Morgan Stanley will look to sell itself to a bank. Investors will be looking for signs about whether Morgan Stanley is indeed looking to merge. They will also be trying to determine the extent of Morgan Stanley's future write-downs.