Bove Could Care Less About Mack Leaving (MS, GS, JPM)

Dick Bove of Rochdale Securities does not care about John Mack leaving Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS).  In fact. you might think he’s even glad to see some new blood managing the company.  Bove called the brokerage firm’s, a.k.a. bank holding company without a bank,  outlook positive.  He noted that Morgan Stanley’s balance sheet is under control and believes that the firm is ready for major gains.  He called the stock attractive and said it was poised to grow again.

The firm is not without problems as securities held and commercial real estate may drag down earnings.  But he does not think that these will be anywhere near the woes of the recent past.

Bove also believes that Morgan Stanley will be conservative and will not increase its risk-taking activities in trading.  In short, he believes that it may grow more than JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM).  That is a far cry from that old Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) call where the larger and more successful firm downgraded the smaller noting effectively that Morgan Stanley was just not enough like Goldman.

JON C. OGG