WEX (NYSE:WEX) Given New $158.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

WEX (NYSE:WEX) had its price objective lifted by Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $158.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. UBS Group set a $165.00 target price on shares of WEX and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of WEX from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of WEX in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of WEX in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of WEX from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, WEX has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.36.

WEX Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WEX opened at $177.83 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. WEX has a 52 week low of $120.03 and a 52 week high of $180.71.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The business services provider reported $4.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.90 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $672.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $660.89 million. WEX had a net margin of 11.43% and a return on equity of 48.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.57 earnings per share. WEX has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.250-17.850 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 3.80-4.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that WEX will post 15.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Joel Alan Dearborn, Jr. sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $612,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 22,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,002,600. This trade represents a 13.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sara Trickett sold 1,815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total transaction of $272,159.25. Following the sale, the insider owned 2,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $320,443.15. The trade was a 45.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 15,479 shares of company stock valued at $2,454,914 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in WEX by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,262,255 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $513,903,000 after buying an additional 12,099 shares during the period. Par Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in WEX by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Par Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,252,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $335,503,000 after buying an additional 400,500 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its stake in WEX by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,447,442 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $215,955,000 after buying an additional 174,079 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in WEX by 1.1% during the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 907,803 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $143,006,000 after buying an additional 10,027 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in WEX by 794.0% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 889,802 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $132,563,000 after buying an additional 790,271 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.47% of the company’s stock.

WEX News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting WEX this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Glass Lewis, a leading proxy advisory firm, recommended shareholders vote for Impactive Capital’s director nominees (Kurt Adams and Lauren Taylor Wolfe), boosting the activist campaign by WEX’s roughly 4.9% shareholder. That increases the likelihood of board change or governance action intended to unlock value. Glass Lewis Supports Impactive at WEX
• Positive Sentiment: WEX launched a solution to close EV at-home charging visibility gaps, expanding its mobility/payment product set and addressing a fast-growing use case for fleet and corporate customers — a strategic revenue/market-share positive if adoption follows. WEX EV at-home charging visibility solution
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and previews: a Q1 earnings preview lays out what to watch (revenues, margin trends, and management’s Q1 guidance). Investors will focus on quarterly results and any guide revisions as immediate drivers. WEX Q1 earnings preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks published analysis questioning whether WEX is undervalued; such pieces can influence sentiment but are not direct catalysts without fresh fundamental changes. Zacks valuation piece on WEX
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $158 but kept an “equal weight” stance — the new target implies material downside from the current market level, which can pressure the stock among institutional holders that follow MS guidance. Morgan Stanley price target
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: COO Joel Alan Dearborn Jr. sold 3,500 shares under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan (avg ~$175). Multiple recent insider sales have been flagged by data aggregators, which can create negative perception even when trades are pre-planned. SEC Form 4 – Dearborn sale

About WEX

WEX Inc is a global financial technology company specializing in business payment solutions for fleet, travel, and corporate payments. The company delivers software-driven platforms and card-based services that help businesses automate payment processes, manage expenses and improve operational efficiency across a range of industries, including transportation, healthcare and government.

Founded in 1983 as Wright Express in Portland, Maine, the company began by offering fuel card services to trucking fleets.