Morgan Stanley Increases WEX (NYSE:WEX) Price Target to $170.00

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised its price target for WEX stock from $142.00 to $170.00, maintaining an "equal weight" rating, which suggests a potential downside of 2.21% from its previous close.
• WEX reported $3.51 earnings per share for the latest quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, though its revenue declined by 2.5% year-over-year.
• CEO Melissa D. Smith purchased 3,721 shares of WEX stock for approximately $500,735, increasing her ownership in the company by 3.82%.

WEX (NYSE:WEX - Free Report) had its target price raised by Morgan Stanley from $142.00 to $170.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the business services provider's stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on WEX from $172.00 to $138.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer began coverage on WEX in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of WEX from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of WEX from $160.00 to $140.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of WEX in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $179.00.

WEX Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of WEX stock traded up $1.43 during trading on Friday, hitting $175.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 745,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 463,946. WEX has a 52 week low of $110.45 and a 52 week high of $217.47. The company has a market capitalization of $6.01 billion, a PE ratio of 22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $145.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $149.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.99, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.04.

WEX (NYSE:WEX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.11. WEX had a net margin of 11.79% and a return on equity of 41.87%. The business had revenue of $636.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $631.42 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.46 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that WEX will post 14.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Jennifer Kimball sold 1,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.08, for a total transaction of $183,512.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,177 shares in the company, valued at approximately $416,441.16. This represents a 30.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Melissa D. Smith bought 3,721 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $134.57 per share, for a total transaction of $500,734.97. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 101,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,616,061.74. This trade represents a 3.82% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WEX

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in WEX by 1.0% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 59,053 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $9,272,000 after buying an additional 578 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of WEX by 27,871.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 69,089 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $10,848,000 after acquiring an additional 68,842 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of WEX by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 29,408 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,283,000 after purchasing an additional 3,439 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of WEX by 88.5% in the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 10,002 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 4,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in WEX by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 6,008 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,053,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the period. 97.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About WEX

WEX Inc operates a commerce platform in the United States and internationally. The Mobility segment offers fleet vehicle payment solutions, transaction processing, and information management services; and provides account activation and account retention services; authorization and billing inquiries, and account maintenance services; account management; credit and collections services; merchant services; analytics solutions; and ancillary services and offerings.