Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) Given New $21.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target would suggest a potential downside of 0.47% from the company's previous close.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $21.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 171,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 615,036. The company has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion and a P/E ratio of 8.27. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $20.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.35. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a 12-month low of $19.05 and a 12-month high of $24.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.56.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $109.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $107.55 million. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending had a net margin of 54.89% and a return on equity of 12.69%. Sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 15,900 shares of the company's stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 669 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Muzinich & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the third quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 38,625 shares of the company's stock valued at $764,000 after buying an additional 4,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everpar Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 36.2% in the fourth quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 25,969 shares of the company's stock worth $537,000 after purchasing an additional 6,901 shares during the period.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Company Profile

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund is a business development company. It is a non-diversified, externally managed specialty finance company focused on lending to middle-market companies. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund is based in NEW YORK.

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