BUZZ-MSCI falls as Q4 profit declines

** Shares of index provider MSCI MSCI.N fall 8.4% to $575.06 in morning trading

** Co's Q4 profit drops to $3.90 per share vs $5.07 per share, a year ago

** MSCI's quarterly operating revenue rises 7.7% to $743.5 mln, while operating expenses increase 5.9% to $338.3 mln

** In Q4 2023, MSCI recorded a one-time gain of $143 mln tied to its investment in private asset data analytics firm Burgiss Group

** 13 of 18 brokerages rate the stock "buy" or higher, 4 "hold" and 1 "sell"; their median PT is $677.50 - LSEG data

** The stock gained 6% in 2024, compared to a 23% jump in the benchmark S&P 500 .SPX