Morgan Stanley Defends Downgrades of Asia Tech Titans After Rout
- Samsung, TSMC shares retreated in wake of analyst reports
- Global technology stocks selloff has added to investor unease
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Morgan Stanley has responded to what it terms “strong” pushback it received from some investors after recent downgrades to Samsung Electronics Co. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. as both technology firms slumped this week.
Analyst Shawn Kim, who lowered Samsung to an equal-weight from overweight Nov. 27 while also slashing the price target to 2.8 million won ($2,577), has had to defend his call against a wide body of investors about the South Korean tech giant’s valuation, earnings growth, and the memory chip cycle. Kim had called for a pause after the technology giant’s record-breaking run this year. Samsung fell 5.1 percent the day of Morgan Stanley’s downgrade.