Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $153.41, but opened at $162.15. Morningstar shares last traded at $160.67, with a volume of 47,432 shares.

Key Stories Impacting Morningstar

Here are the key news stories impacting Morningstar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morningstar Sustainalytics announced an expanded collaboration with XDI and Veridion to strengthen its physical climate risk product for asset managers and asset owners, which could support Morningstar’s sustainable investing/data business and reinforce its position in a growing market. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Morningstar was mentioned in a pair of articles highlighting dividend stocks, including commentary from company executives Christine Benz and Damien Conover. These mentions may help keep Morningstar’s brand visible to income-focused investors, but they do not appear to be a direct business catalyst. Article Title Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports said MorningStar Farms, the plant-based food brand, recalled multiple frozen products nationwide after possible plastic contamination was found. While this is not Morningstar, Inc.’s core financial-services business, the repeated recall headlines may still create confusion and could weigh on sentiment around the Morningstar name. Article Title Article Title

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MORN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $210.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.67.

Morningstar Trading Down 1.9%

The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $185.61. The firm has a market cap of $5.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.60 and a beta of 1.00.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.77. Morningstar had a return on equity of 33.14% and a net margin of 16.06%.The business had revenue of $644.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $626.91 million.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 2,270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.72, for a total value of $401,154.40. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 8,043,492 shares in the company, valued at $1,421,445,906.24. The trade was a 0.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Michael Holt sold 270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.05, for a total transaction of $44,833.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 12,326 shares in the company, valued at $2,046,732.30. This represents a 2.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 64,720 shares of company stock valued at $11,169,471 over the last 90 days. 38.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morningstar

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 23.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 178 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,838 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,151,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 278.2% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 208 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Morningstar by 2,450.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 561 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $176,000 after buying an additional 539 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its holdings in Morningstar by 58.8% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 138,932 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,615,000 after buying an additional 51,449 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morningstar Company Profile

Morningstar, Inc is a leading provider of independent investment research, data, and analytics, serving both individual investors and financial professionals. The company offers comprehensive coverage of financial products, including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), stocks, bonds and market indexes. Morningstar’s proprietary rating systems and research methodologies help clients assess the risk and return profiles of investment opportunities and make informed decisions.

Its core products include Morningstar Direct, an institutional investment analysis platform; Morningstar Office Cloud, a portfolio management solution for advisors; and Morningstar Data, which delivers extensive datasets through APIs and data feeds.