Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) Price Target to $14.00

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) had its price objective decreased by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $16.00 to $14.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective indicates a potential downside of 4.11% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on MSDL. Zacks Research upgraded Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $18.50 to $16.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $16.00 to $16.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $18.00 target price (down from $19.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.92.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Price Performance

NYSE MSDL opened at $14.60 on Monday. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a fifty-two week low of $14.25 and a fifty-two week high of $20.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $16.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.77. The firm has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.43 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 45.48 and a quick ratio of 45.48.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 30.73%.The business had revenue of $49.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $97.30 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael Jr. Occi bought 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $14.87 per share, for a total transaction of $104,090.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 28,500 shares in the company, valued at $423,795. This trade represents a 32.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund during the third quarter worth about $227,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 53.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178 shares during the period. TT Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. TT Capital Management LLC now owns 297,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,785,000 after acquiring an additional 59,797 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 36.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 505,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,121,000 after purchasing an additional 134,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 3.9% during the third 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 period.

About Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

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.