Morgan Stanley (MS) is scheduled to report results of its third fiscal quarter before the market open on October 19, with a conference call scheduled for 8:30 am EDT.

What to watch for:

1. BETTER TIMES AHEAD: On a post earnings article in July, Barron's said Morgan Stanley is poised for better times ahead, after the bank posted better than expected quarterly results and slashed expenses over the past year. After a rough year, with low interested rates and Brexit hurting the stock, Morgan Stanley should be able to "turn it around," the publication contended.

2. ANALYST MOVES TO THE SIDELINES: On October 6, Sandler O'Neill analyst Jeffery Harte downgraded Morgan Stanley to Hold, citing relative share out performance. While the analyst raised his third quarter earnings per share estimate to primarily reflect a more resilient underwriting and FICC revenue environment, Harte said he expects revenue for the quarter to decline by 7% sequentially to $8.3B. Additionally, he sees non-interest expenses declining by 2% sequentially to $6.3B.

3. BREXIT CONCERNS: During the company's last earnings call, the bank CEO James Gorman expressed concern over Britain's decision to leave the EU, saying the vote has created "uncertainty that is likely to persist for some time," which while "suboptimal," did create "record high volumes and sparks of volatility," said Gorman. The CEO added, however, that Morgan's systems "ran smoothly" in the wake of the Brexit vote. Also commenting on the Brexit vote, the bank's head of Europe Rob Rooney said on Tuesday that Morgan Stanley would have to move parts of their operations from London if the U.K. were shut out of the single market after Brexit, according to Reuters.

4. MOVE TO BASIC BANKING: Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs (GS) have turned to more basic banking businesses of deposits and loans for the middle class, as they try to replace lost profits, according to The Wall Street Journal. Both banks have been growing deposits and loans the past couple of years, with Morgan Stanley's lending book having more than tripled since 2012 to $93B, the publication said. Further, Morgan Stanley began offering clients new perks to move outside cash into their brokerage accounts, including reimbursing ATM fees, and will soon begin offering a savings account that pays about 0.45 percentage points a year, the report noted.