Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has increased its price target for Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) from **$74.00 to $90.00**, suggesting a potential upside of **27.20%** from the current stock price.
• Moelis & Company reported earnings per share of **$0.53**, significantly exceeding analyst estimates, with quarterly revenue up **38.1%** year-over-year.
• Institutional investors own approximately **91.53%** of Moelis & Company's stock, with recent buying activity noted from firms like Bank of America and Deutsche Bank.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $74.00 to $90.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the asset manager's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price would indicate a potential upside of 20.50% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on MC. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Moelis & Company from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Moelis & Company from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Moelis & Company from $69.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Moelis & Company from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $69.67.

Moelis & Company Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of MC stock traded down $0.96 on Monday, hitting $74.69. The company had a trading volume of 421,825 shares, compared to its average volume of 525,627. The firm has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.41 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $71.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.46. Moelis & Company has a twelve month low of $47.00 and a twelve month high of $82.89.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.21. Moelis & Company had a return on equity of 42.72% and a net margin of 14.31%.The firm had revenue of $365.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $269.57 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.18 earnings per share. Moelis & Company's revenue for the quarter was up 38.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 6,340 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.64, for a total transaction of $460,537.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 131 shares in the company, valued at $9,515.84. This represents a 97.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 2,615 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.52, for a total transaction of $189,639.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,109 shares in the company, valued at $515,544.68. This represents a 26.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moelis & Company

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MC. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Moelis & Company by 214.5% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,942,299 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $171,713,000 after acquiring an additional 2,006,747 shares during the last quarter. Azora Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $46,762,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Moelis & Company by 1,161.8% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 661,594 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $41,231,000 after buying an additional 609,162 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Moelis & Company by 32.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,356,893 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $137,548,000 after buying an additional 579,529 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Moelis & Company during the second quarter worth $31,248,000. 91.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moelis & Company Company Profile

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.