MSCI (NYSE: MSCI) shares moved up 6.7% in the past year compared with the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector's return of 39.8% and the Zacks Business - Software Services sector's rise of 29.2%.
The underperformance is likely to have been caused by a tighter spending environment and longer sales cycles due to challenging macroeconomic conditions.
Increasing pricing pressure is also a major concern, primarily due to the growing availability of free indices from providers like Morningstar (NASDAQ: MORN).
As Morningstar continues to offer more accessible options, self-indexing and lower spending by asset managers on gathering data are other headwinds.
MSCI Inc Price and Consensus
MSCI Inc price-consensus-chart | MSCI Inc Quote
Despite these challenges, MSCI is benefiting from strong demand for custom and factor index modules, recurring revenue business models and the growing adoption of its ESG and Climate solutions in the investment process.
Hence, investors should ask this question — is now the right time to ...
