Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL – Get Free Report) and Valuence Merger Corp. I (NASDAQ:VMCA – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, risk, dividends, valuation and analyst recommendations.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Morgan Stanley Direct Lending and Valuence Merger Corp. I’s 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 | 5.70 | $231.01 million | $3.10 | 7.56 |
Valuence Merger Corp. I | N/A | N/A | $4.77 million | N/A | N/A |
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has higher revenue and earnings than Valuence Merger Corp. I.
Analyst Ratings
Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2.33 |
Valuence Merger Corp. I | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending currently has a consensus price target of $21.92, indicating a potential downside of 6.50%. Given Morgan Stanley Direct Lending’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Morgan Stanley Direct Lending is more favorable than Valuence Merger Corp. I.
Profitability
This table compares Morgan Stanley Direct Lending and Valuence Merger Corp. I’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% |
Valuence Merger Corp. I | N/A | -30.65% | 5.17% |
Institutional and Insider Ownership
52.2% of Valuence Merger Corp. I shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 47.0% of Valuence Merger Corp. I shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending beats Valuence Merger Corp. I 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 Valuence Merger Corp. I
Valuence Merger Corp. I does not have significant operations. The company focuses on effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities. It intends to identify a business in Asia that is developing breakthrough technology in life sciences and/or advancing a platform for sustainable technology. The company was incorporated in 2021 and is based in Orinda, California.
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