10:58 AM EDT, 10/09/2024 (MT Newswires) -- MSCI ( MSCI ) likely saw "lower retention and seasonally soft bookings" in Q3 but the company will likely see an improvement in its Q4 results, RBC Capital Markets said in a note to clients emailed Wednesday.

"Historically, 1Q/3Q tend to be seasonally weaker quarters, and we expect elevated cancels in 3Q24 driven by downsizing/budget pruning at banks, hedge funds, and asset managers," RBC said.

"Hence, we expect earnings to be a clearing event as bookings and retention improve in 4Q24 and benefit from improved asset manager budgets and fund formation in 2025," the note said.

RBC expects MSCI ( MSCI ) to deliver Q3 revenue of $707 million, compared with the consensus estimate of $713 million, and Q3 EBITDA of $422 million, lower than the consensus estimate at $433 million.

RBC has an outperform rating on MSCI ( MSCI ) and $638 price target.

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