Short Interest in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) Increases By 170.2%

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,574,458 shares, an increase of 170.2% from the January 29th total of 582,617 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,096,089 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,096,089 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

More Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund News

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Declared a $0.45 quarterly dividend (annualized yield ~11.9%); record date/ex-dividend date March 31 and payable April 24 — supports income-focused demand for the stock. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Announces December 31, 2025 Financial Results and Declares First Quarter 2026 Regular Dividend of $0.45 per Share
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported Q4 EPS of $0.49, in line with consensus — meeting expectations limits downside from headline EPS misses. MSDL Q4 Earnings Meet Estimates (Zacks)
• Neutral Sentiment: Management commentary from the Q4 earnings call is available (transcript) and will be monitored for details on portfolio performance, NAV drivers and credit quality — useful for assessing forward income stability. MSDL Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript (Seeking Alpha)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts had been focused on Q4 after a Q3 miss; the quarter’s mixed results keep that scrutiny active as investors look for signs of durable earnings and portfolio stability. Earnings in Focus After Q3 Miss (Investing.com)
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue came in far below expectations — reported $49.6M vs. analyst expectations near $97.3M — and EPS declined from $0.57 a year ago to $0.49, which likely explains the downward pressure on the share price despite the dividend. MSDL Earnings Summary (MarketBeat)

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $16.00 price target (down from $17.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Zacks Research raised shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $16.00 to $16.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.58.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSDL. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $523,000. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 100.8% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 47,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $778,000 after purchasing an additional 23,689 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in the 4th quarter worth $1,345,000. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 713,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,761,000 after purchasing an additional 148,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oxford Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in the 4th quarter valued at about $171,000.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Trading Down 4.3%

Shares of NYSE:MSDL traded down $0.67 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $14.81. The company had a trading volume of 2,098,392 shares, compared to its average volume of 865,835. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a 12 month low of $14.64 and a 12 month high of $20.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 0.26. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.83.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.49. The business 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 9.82%. On average, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.2%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund’s payout ratio is currently 121.21%.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Company Profile

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.