Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) Stock Rating Lowered by Wells Fargo & Company

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $16.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $17.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would suggest a potential downside of 3.47% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $19.50 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $18.00 price objective (down from $19.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Zacks Research upgraded Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $16.00 to $16.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.58.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Stock Performance

Shares of MSDL stock opened at $16.58 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 1.45. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a 52 week low of $15.70 and a 52 week high of $21.75. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $16.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.61. The company has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.05 and a beta of 0.26.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.01. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund had a net margin of 35.92% and a return on equity of 10.21%. The company had revenue of $99.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.55 million. On average, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CIO Ashwin Krishnan acquired 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $16.72 per share, with a total value of $50,160.00. Following the acquisition, the executive owned 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $50,160. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSDL. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,967,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,640,000 after acquiring an additional 48,248 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 68,014 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 17.5% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 964,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,506,000 after purchasing an additional 143,471 shares during the period. Muzinich & Co. Inc. increased 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 worth $9,401,000 after buying an additional 128,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 487.2% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 543,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,734,000 after buying an additional 450,681 shares during the period.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Company Profile

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE: MSDL) is a closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide investors with attractive current income and the potential for capital appreciation. The fund primarily invests in senior secured loans and other debt instruments issued by middle-market companies. By focusing on floating-rate structures, it aims to offer a measure of protection against rising interest rates while generating regular cash distributions.

The fund’s investment strategy centers on building a diversified portfolio of direct lending opportunities across a broad range of industries, including healthcare, business services, and industrials.