Morgan Stanley upgraded Swiss private bank Julius Baer to equal-weight from underweight and raised its price target to CHF 81 from CHF 67 after Swiss regulator FINMA ended enforcement action against the bank over anti-money laundering breaches. Morgan Stanley said it was not moving to overweight as it does not expect client flows to improve in the second half of 2026 and sees 2027 as an investment year as Julius Baer transitions to a new core banking system. FINMA has relaxed measures restricting Julius Baer's entry into new business relationships with politically exposed persons from high-risk countries and has partially or fully lifted measures covering capital and liquidity, though the regulator will continue to require reporting on risk, error and compliance culture through 2032, and FINMA approval remains necessary for dividends and share buybacks. Morgan Stanley moved its valuation basis to 2028 earnings from 2027 and cut its cost of equity assumption to 10.5% from 11%, putting the new price target at 12 times estimated 2028 earnings. Underlying earnings per share are now forecast at CHF 6.05 for 2026, CHF 6.20 for 2027 and CHF 6.78 for 2028, compared with previous estimates of CHF 6.14, CHF 6.15 and CHF 6.90, respectively, while Morgan Stanley assumes CHF 100 million of buybacks for the remainder of 2026 and CHF 600 million annually in 2027 and 2028.
Julius Baer Gruppe AGMorgan Stanley upgraded the stock to equal-weight and lifted its price target to CHF 81 from CHF 67.
Morgan StanleyMorgan Stanley upgraded Julius Baer to equal-weight and raised its price target to CHF 81 from CHF 67.
CTBC Financial Holding Co Ltd
