Jefferies Financial upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded Jefferies Financial (JEF) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $97, up from $67. After this year’s outperformance, the firm sees further upside across its M&A boutique coverage as prior bull case plays out and firms execute on the M&A rebound, the analyst tells investors. While all boutiques ramped up hiring over the last few years, the dispersion is large, says the analyst, who notes that the firm’s three Overweights – Jefferies, Evercore (EVR) and Moelis (MC) – grew their managing director base by 46%, 27% and 26%, respectively, from Q4 of 2021 to Q3 of 2024.