morgan stanley ms was downgraded to sector perform from outperform at rbc capital markets its performance over the last 18 months has been very strong due to better than expected core results driven by the current bull market and the successful acquisitions of etrade and eaton vance we believe the outlook for the company is still healthy but with the likelihood of higher interest rates over the next 1218 months traditional commercial banks will likely outperform the investment banks including ms in our view said analyst gerard cassidy in a note to clients morgan stanley shares have gained 47 this year