Is Morgan Stanley (MS) Outperforming Other Finance Stocks This Year?

Company Performance - Morgan Stanley (MS) has returned 17.4% year-to-date, outperforming the average return of 11.8% for Finance companies [4] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Morgan Stanley's full-year earnings has increased by 2.8% over the past three months, indicating improved analyst sentiment and earnings outlook [3] Industry Comparison - Morgan Stanley is part of the Financial - Investment Bank industry, which has an average year-to-date return of 23.1%, suggesting that MS is slightly underperforming its industry [5] - In contrast, Aviva (AVVIY) has significantly outperformed both the Finance sector and its own industry, returning 57.1% year-to-date [4][6] Sector Ranking - The Finance sector, which includes 869 individual stocks, currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of 2, indicating strong performance relative to other sectors [2] - Morgan Stanley has a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy), reflecting its favorable position within the Finance sector [3]