Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) Stock Price Crosses Above 50 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL)’s share price crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $14.17 and traded as high as $14.27. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund shares last traded at $14.2050, with a volume of 487,545 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSDL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial set a $15.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $16.25 to $15.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.17.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $14.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.97. The stock has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.59 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.45. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 15.97%. The firm had revenue of $88.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.99 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 28,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 5,733 shares in the last quarter. Cowa LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 5.7% in the third quarter. Cowa LLC now owns 20,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Arlington Capital Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in the third quarter valued at about $1,006,000. GraniteShares Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 1.6% during the third quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC now owns 166,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,276,000 after buying an additional 2,583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 1.6% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 626,116 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,534,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Company Profile

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE: MSDL) is a business development company focused on providing financing to privately held, middle-market companies. The fund seeks to generate current income and, to a lesser extent, capital appreciation by investing primarily in senior secured loans and other debt investments.

MSDL generally targets established companies with strong market positions and invests across a range of industries. Its portfolio may include first-lien and unitranche loans, as well as selectively structured junior debt and equity investments.