Royal Bank Of Canada Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) Stock Price

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) had its price objective cut by research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $18.00 to $16.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “sector perform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price target suggests a potential upside of 6.95% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. 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 lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $18.50 to $16.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.58.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Price Performance

NYSE:MSDL traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $14.96. 162,568 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 856,982. The company has a quick ratio of 45.48, a current ratio of 45.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69 and a beta of 0.34. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a 12 month low of $14.25 and a 12 month high of $20.90. The company has a fifty day moving average of $16.02 and a 200 day moving average of $16.76.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael Jr. Occi bought 7,000 shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $14.87 per share, for a total transaction of $104,090.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 28,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $423,795. This represents a 32.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 73.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,668,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,500,000 after purchasing an additional 704,394 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in the fourth quarter worth $10,719,000. American Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund during the fourth quarter worth $8,759,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 487.2% in the 3rd 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. Finally, HRT Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in the 4th quarter valued at $6,497,000.

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.