Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Stock Price

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $70.00 to $42.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "underweight" rating on the asset manager's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target would indicate a potential downside of 16.89% from the company's current price.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on MC. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Moelis & Company from $86.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Moelis & Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $92.00 price objective (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $62.50.

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Moelis & Company Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:MC traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $50.54. 996,288 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 722,190. The firm has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 28.71 and a beta of 1.53. Moelis & Company has a twelve month low of $46.24 and a twelve month high of $82.89. The stock's 50-day moving average is $64.25 and its 200-day moving average is $70.13.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.79. Moelis & Company had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 38.49%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Moelis & Company news, General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 5,661 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total transaction of $418,914.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 6,471 shares of the company's stock, valued at $478,854. This trade represents a 46.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher Callesano sold 1,282 shares of Moelis & Company stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total transaction of $94,868.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,227 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $90,798. This represents a 51.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,721 shares of company stock valued at $1,677,017 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 6.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Moelis & Company by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 66,893 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,904,000 after acquiring an additional 8,107 shares in the last quarter. Impact Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Moelis & Company by 10.5% during the first quarter. Impact Capital Partners LLC now owns 12,257 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $715,000 after purchasing an additional 1,160 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company during the first quarter worth about $165,000. Peak Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 2.4% in the first quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,567 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Heritage Family Offices LLP grew its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 10.7% in the first quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 4,940 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. 91.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moelis & Company Company Profile

Moelis & Co operates as a holding company. It engages in the provision of financial advisory, capital raising and asset management services to a client base including corporations, governments, sovereign wealth funds and financial sponsors. The firm focuses on clients including large public multinational corporations, middle market private companies, financial sponsors, entrepreneurs and governments.