Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for WEX (NYSE:WEX) Stock

WEX (NYSE:WEX) had its price objective increased by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $161.00 to $172.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 5.24% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on WEX. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of WEX in a research note on Monday, April 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded WEX from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen cut WEX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on WEX from $180.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Evercore upgraded WEX to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $173.70.

WEX Stock Performance

NYSE:WEX opened at $163.44 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. The company has a market cap of $5.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $144.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $152.28. WEX has a fifty-two week low of $125.29 and a fifty-two week high of $186.85.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $673.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $660.96 million. WEX had a return on equity of 42.66% and a net margin of 11.50%.The company’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.51 EPS. WEX has set its FY 2026 guidance at 18.950-19.550 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 4.930-5.130 EPS. Analysts expect that WEX will post 16.81 EPS for the current year.

WEX declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 14th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 21.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other WEX news, Director James R. Groch bought 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $142.95 per share, with a total value of $214,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 17,957 shares in the company, valued at $2,566,953.15. The trade was a 9.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.40, for a total value of $296,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 20,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,010,739.20. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEX. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in WEX during the 2nd quarter worth $208,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of WEX by 55.2% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 655 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of WEX by 679.8% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,583 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 1,380 shares in the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of WEX by 20.5% during the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 1,451 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in WEX in the first quarter worth about $3,501,000. 97.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.