Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Stock

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $56.00 to $62.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the pipeline company's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price would suggest a potential upside of 18.33% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James lifted their target price on Mplx from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mplx from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Mplx from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mplx has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $53.10.

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Mplx Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MPLX traded up $0.05 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $52.40. The stock had a trading volume of 430,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,830,907. Mplx has a 52 week low of $39.56 and a 52 week high of $54.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm's fifty day moving average is $51.75 and its 200 day moving average is $47.81. The stock has a market cap of $53.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.40.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.03. Mplx had a net margin of 36.18% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mplx will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Mplx

In related news, VP Shawn M. Lyon bought 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $52.75 per share, for a total transaction of $211,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 25,299 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,334,522.25. This trade represents a 18.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Mplx by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 44,894 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,996,000 after acquiring an additional 1,338 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mplx during the third quarter worth about $229,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Mplx by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 33,171 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550 shares in the last quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC increased its stake in Mplx by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 25,095 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,116,000 after buying an additional 639 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV lifted its position in shares of Mplx by 69.8% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 6,628,400 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $294,699,000 after buying an additional 2,725,000 shares in the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mplx Company Profile

MPLX LP engages in the operation of midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets, and distribution fuels services. It operates through the Logistics and Storage (L&S) and Gathering and Processing (G&P) segments. The Logistics and Storage segment transports, stores, distributes, and markets crude oil, asphalt, refined petroleum products, and water.

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