WisdomTree (NYSE:WT) Price Target Raised to $20.50 at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised its price target on WisdomTree to $20.50 from $18.00 while keeping an “equal weight” rating, implying about 18.6% upside from the stock’s current price.
• Other analysts remain mixed on WT: recent targets range from $16.80 to $22.00, and the consensus view is currently a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $19.22.
• WisdomTree reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.27 versus $0.25 expected and revenue of $159.5 million, up 47.5% year over year; meanwhile, the article noted recent insider share sales and heavy institutional ownership.

WisdomTree (NYSE:WT - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $18.00 to $20.50 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price target suggests a potential upside of 18.57% from the company's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on WT. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on WisdomTree from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $16.80 price target on shares of WisdomTree in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Northland Securities set a $22.00 price objective on WisdomTree in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings cut WisdomTree from a "buy (b)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of WisdomTree in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, WisdomTree currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $19.22.

WisdomTree Price Performance

WisdomTree stock opened at $17.29 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.64 billion, a PE ratio of 42.28 and a beta of 1.15. WisdomTree has a one year low of $10.69 and a one year high of $19.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.37, a current ratio of 4.57 and a quick ratio of 4.18. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.98.

WisdomTree (NYSE:WT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.02. WisdomTree had a return on equity of 33.31% and a net margin of 11.26%.The firm had revenue of $159.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $156.96 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.16 EPS. The business's revenue was up 47.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that WisdomTree will post 1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO R Jarrett Lilien sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.99, for a total value of $569,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,110,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,083,552.55. This trade represents a 2.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider David M. Yates sold 15,000 shares of WisdomTree stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.06, for a total value of $270,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 157,499 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,844,431.94. The trade was a 8.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 10.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WT. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of WisdomTree by 556.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,327,389 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,887,000 after purchasing an additional 1,972,847 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in WisdomTree by 9.0% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 20,300 shares of the company's stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 1,680 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in WisdomTree by 25.8% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 158,271 shares of the company's stock worth $2,304,000 after acquiring an additional 32,495 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of WisdomTree during the first quarter worth approximately $621,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of WisdomTree by 178.9% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 163,727 shares of the company's stock worth $2,384,000 after acquiring an additional 105,023 shares during the period. 78.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About WisdomTree

WisdomTree Investments, Inc NYSE: WT is a U.S.-based asset management firm specializing in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and exchange-traded products (ETPs). Founded in 2006 by Jonathan Steinberg and headquartered in New York City, WisdomTree has developed a reputation for pioneering smart-beta and fundamentally weighted indexing approaches. The company designs strategies that seek to enhance returns and reduce volatility by weighting constituents based on dividends, earnings or other financial metrics rather than relying solely on market capitalization.

WisdomTree offers a broad suite of investment products covering equities, fixed income, currencies, commodities and digital assets.

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