UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) Stock

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) had its target price hoisted by investment analysts at UBS Group from $20.50 to $21.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. UBS Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 7.14% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $20.50 to $19.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.10.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Price Performance

NYSE MSDL opened at $19.60 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a 12-month low of $17.59 and a 12-month high of $23.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.99 and a beta of 0.34.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $101.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $102.86 million. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund had a return on equity of 11.80% and a net margin of 47.65%. Analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

In other Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund news, Director Kevin Shannon acquired 10,000 shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.43 per share, for a total transaction of $194,300.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,751. This trade represents a -232.56% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 27.3% during the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 4,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Adams Asset Advisors LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 43.7% in the second quarter. Adams Asset Advisors LLC now owns 90,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,694,000 after acquiring an additional 27,524 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 223.0% during the second quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 86,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,628,000 after purchasing an additional 60,022 shares during the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in the first quarter worth approximately $603,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 682.5% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 198,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,966,000 after buying an additional 173,292 shares during the period.

About Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

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.