Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Moelis & Company from a "hold" to a strong sell, and multiple firms (Keefe Bruyette & Woods, UBS, Goldman) have trimmed price targets even though the consensus rating remains "Hold" with an average target of $71.89 (2 Buy / 8 Hold / 1 Sell).
• Moelis missed quarterly EPS ($0.50 vs. $0.59 expected) and slightly missed revenue, and the company's General Counsel sold 2,765 shares—developments that, alongside the stock trading near $64 and a roughly $5B market cap, may weigh on sentiment.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on MC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Moelis & Company from $80.00 to $64.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Moelis & Company from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Moelis & Company from $70.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Moelis & Company from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Moelis & Company in a report on Monday, January 26th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $71.89.

Moelis & Company Stock Up 0.7%

MC opened at $63.95 on Tuesday. 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 $4.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.00, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.87. The business has a 50 day moving average of $60.06 and a 200-day moving average of $65.64.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The asset manager reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $319.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $321.51 million. Moelis & Company had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 38.94%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Moelis & Company will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moelis & Company news, General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 2,765 shares of Moelis & Company stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.23, for a total value of $172,065.95. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 4,981 shares in the company, valued at $309,967.63. The trade was a 35.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 6.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moelis & Company

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Moelis & Company by 292.2% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 455 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Moelis & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Moelis & Company by 89.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 389 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Moelis & Company by 64.4% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 416 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Moelis & Company by 153.9% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 419 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. 91.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Moelis & Company

Moelis & Co operates as a holding company. It engages in the provision of financial advisory, capital raising and asset management services to a client base including corporations, governments, sovereign wealth funds and financial sponsors. The firm focuses on clients including large public multinational corporations, middle market private companies, financial sponsors, entrepreneurs and governments. The company was founded by Kenneth David Moelis, Navid Mahmoodzadegan, Jeffrey Raich and Elizabeth Ann Crain in July 2007 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

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