Morgan Stanley Cuts Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Price Target to $77.00

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley lowered Moelis & Company’s price target from $85 to $77 while maintaining an “overweight” rating, implying 37.61% potential upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with three Buy ratings and six Holds; the consensus rating is “Hold” with an average price target of $72.29.
• Moelis shares traded at $55.96, near the lower end of their 12-month range. The company recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $0.63 EPS and $409.39 million in revenue.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by Morgan Stanley from $85.00 to $77.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the asset manager's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target suggests a potential upside of 37.61% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Moelis & Company from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. UBS Group raised shares of Moelis & Company from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research raised shares of Moelis & Company from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Moelis & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Moelis & Company from $71.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moelis & Company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $72.29.

Moelis & Company Price Performance

Shares of Moelis & Company stock traded down $0.19 during trading on Thursday, hitting $55.96. 49,762 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,037,054. Moelis & Company has a 12-month low of $51.06 and a 12-month high of $78.22. The stock has a market cap of $4.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.91. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $64.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.73.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The asset manager reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.01. Moelis & Company had a return on equity of 39.59% and a net margin of 14.50%.The business had revenue of $409.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $387.27 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Moelis & Company will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Osamu Watanabe sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.30, for a total value of $336,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 131 shares in the company, valued at $9,078.30. This trade represents a 97.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 1,881 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.06, for a total transaction of $129,901.86. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,633 shares of the company's stock, valued at $527,134.98. The trade was a 19.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 6.29% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moelis & Company

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 23.8% during the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 3,330 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Moelis & Company by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,206 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $341,000 after buying an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in Moelis & Company during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $220,000. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Moelis & Company during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,529,000. Finally, Nykredit A S acquired a new position in shares of Moelis & Company during the second quarter valued at approximately $99,000. 91.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Moelis & Company

Moelis & Company NYSE: MC is an independent global investment bank that provides strategic and financial advisory services to corporations, financial sponsors, governments and other institutions. The firm advises clients on mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, recapitalizations, restructurings, liability management, capital raising and other complex financial transactions.

Moelis & Company serves clients across a range of industries, including technology, media and telecommunications; consumer and retail; energy and infrastructure; financial services; healthcare; industrials; and real estate.

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