Contrasting Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) and Iris Acquisition (NASDAQ:IRAA)

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) and Iris Acquisition (NASDAQ:IRAA) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, risk and analyst recommendations.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

2.9% of Iris Acquisition shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.8% of Iris Acquisition shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Morgan Stanley Direct Lending and Iris Acquisition’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending	$367.74 million	5.69	$231.01 million	$3.10	7.55
Iris Acquisition	N/A	N/A	-$1.23 million	N/A	N/A

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has higher revenue and earnings than Iris Acquisition.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Morgan Stanley Direct Lending and Iris Acquisition, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending	0	4	2	0	2.33
Iris Acquisition	0	0	0	0	N/A

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending currently has a consensus price target of $21.92, indicating a potential downside of 6.34%. Given Morgan Stanley Direct Lending’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Morgan Stanley Direct Lending is more favorable than Iris Acquisition.

Profitability

This table compares Morgan Stanley Direct Lending and Iris Acquisition’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending	62.34%	12.87%	6.39%
Iris Acquisition	N/A	N/A	-20.26%

Summary

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending beats Iris Acquisition on 7 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Morgan Stanley Direct Lending

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund is a business development company. It is a non-diversified, externally managed specialty finance company focused on lending to middle-market companies. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund is based in NEW YORK.

About Iris Acquisition

Iris Acquisition Corp does not have significant operations. It intends to effect a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses. The company was formerly known as Tribe Capital Growth Corp I and changed its name to Iris Acquisition Corp in July 2022. The company was incorporated in 2020 and is based in George Town, Cayman Islands. Iris Acquisition Corp is a subsidiary of Iris Acquisition Holdings LLC.