Raymond James analyst Patrick O'Shaughnessy downgraded MSCI Inc (NYSE: MSCI) to Market Perform from Outperform ahead of Q4 earnings.
The analyst stated that the net recurring ESG & Climate sales through the first three quarters of 2023 stood at $31 million (vs. $52 million in 2022 and $43 million in 2021) on headwinds from political pushback in the U.S. and regulatory uncertainty in Europe.
The analyst expects political headwinds to remain persistent throughout at least 2024.
The analyst also cited that ESG is maturing as an investment strategy, including moderating ETF/ETP asset growth.
Consequently, O'Shaughnessy estimates ESG & Climate segment revenue growth to decelerate further to 17% in 2024, well ...