Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) Price Target Raised to $16.50

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) had its price target raised by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $16.00 to $16.50 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 0.12% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $17.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Raymond James Financial set a $18.50 target price on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $19.50 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Zacks Research downgraded Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.92.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Stock Performance

MSDL stock traded up $0.02 during trading on Monday, reaching $16.48. 352,401 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 641,259. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a 1-year low of $15.70 and a 1-year high of $21.75. The firm has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a PE ratio of 9.99 and a beta of 0.26. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $17.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $99.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $98.55 million. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund had a net margin of 35.92% and a return on equity of 10.15%. On average, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joan Binstock bought 9,030 shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.64 per share, with a total value of $150,259.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 50,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $832,698.88. This trade represents a 22.02% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Michael Jr. Occi purchased 14,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $17.78 per share, for a total transaction of $248,920.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,500 shares in the company, valued at $382,270. This represents a 186.67% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have purchased a total of 61,278 shares of company stock worth $1,075,221 over the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MSDL. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 1,829,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,426,000 after acquiring an additional 68,014 shares in the last quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 28.3% during the third quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 584,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,401,000 after buying an additional 128,990 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 42.5% in the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 538,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,667,000 after acquiring an additional 160,829 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 36.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 505,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,121,000 after acquiring an additional 134,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 350,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,554,000 after acquiring an additional 26,652 shares during the period.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund 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.