Morgan Stanley Overweight On Prudential Financial

Morgan Stanley is out with a research report on Prudential Financial (NYSE: PRU) and it has an Overweight rating and a $67 price target on shares.

In a note to clients, Morgan Stanley writes, "Prudential remains one of our highest conviction ideas with the current valuation presenting what we consider to be a highly attractive buying opportunity for investors. While the current macro environment has weighed heavily on sentiment toward all life insurers, we believe Prudential's fundamental outlook is substantially stronger than what is presently reflected in the stock price. Specifically, we expect its international operations to shield it from many of the pressures its peers are facing, leading us to only relatively modest estimate revisions for 2012. While we are lowering our price target to $67 (down $7), this suggests substantial upside of 38%, leading us to reiterate our Overweight rating."

Shares of PRU gained 99 cents yesterday to close at $48.38.