MSDL Stock Analysis: Morgan Stanley Direct | NYSE

Asset Management | NYSE, USA | Market Cap: 1.140m USD | 12M Return: -8% | US61774A1034 | Charts, Fundamentals & Technical Analysis

Private Debt, Middle-Market Lending, Leveraged Loans, Acquisition Financing
Total Rating 28
Safety 39
Buy Signal -1.18
Asset Management
Industry Rotation: -5.5
Market Cap: 1.14B
Avg Turnover: 6.19M
Risk 3d forecast
Volatility20.0%
VaR 5th Pctl3.41%
VaR vs Median3.42%
Reward TTM
Sharpe Ratio-0.49
Rel. Str. IBD22.6
Rel. Str. Peer Group12.5
Character TTM
Beta0.520
Beta Downside0.542
Hurst Exponent0.443
Drawdowns 3y
Max DD29.68%
CAGR/Max DD-0.15
CAGR/Mean DD-0.33
EPS (Earnings per Share) EPS (Earnings per Share) of MSDL over the last years for every Quarter: "2021-09": null, "2021-12": null, "2022-03": null, "2022-06": null, "2022-09": null, "2022-12": null, "2023-03": null, "2023-06": null, "2023-09": null, "2023-12": 0.67, "2024-03": 0.63, "2024-06": 0.63, "2024-09": 0.6, "2024-12": 0.58, "2025-03": 0.52, "2025-06": 0.5, "2025-09": 0.5, "2025-12": 0.49, "2026-03": 0.47, "2026-06": 0.45,
Last SUE: 0.53
Qual. Beats: 0
Revenue Revenue of MSDL over the last years for every Quarter: 2021-09: 26.564, 2021-12: 31.879, 2022-03: 29.134, 2022-06: 6.601, 2022-09: 24.309, 2022-12: 40.171, 2023-03: 66.509, 2023-06: 79.957, 2023-09: 98.804, 2023-12: 82.858, 2024-03: 76.568, 2024-06: 86.919, 2024-09: 85.001, 2024-12: 84.034, 2025-03: 65.439, 2025-06: 73.044, 2025-09: 64.684, 2025-12: 86.923, 2026-03: 75.057, 2026-06: 82.625,
Rev. CAGR: -3.01%
Rev. Trend: -41.1%
Last SUE: -0.23
Qual. Beats: 0

Warnings

Below Avwap Earnings
Below Sma 200d

Tailwinds

No distinct edge detected

Seasonality 2.7 years of data

Jan +0.8% 29
Feb -5.4% 37
Mar +0.2% 0
Apr +5.2% 0
May +1.4% 34
Jun -0.2% 0
Jul -1.0% 31
Aug +1.7% 0
Sep -8.1% -
Oct +5.9% -
Nov +2.5% -
Dec -0.8% -

How good or bad each month usually is (without trend). The score below shows how much you can trust it: 0 = pure chance, >40 gets interesting and >55 is strong.

Description: MSDL Morgan Stanley Direct

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (MSDL) is a business development company (BDC) structured as a private debt fund, primarily investing in higher-yielding debt issued by U.S. middle-market companies and in acquisition financings arranged by private equity sponsors.

BDCs are a regulated category of closed-end investment company designed to provide capital to small and mid-sized private businesses, and they are generally required to distribute the bulk of their taxable earnings to shareholders. Direct lending vehicles such as MSDL have expanded in recent years as traditional banks have pulled back from middle-market leveraged finance, creating a sizable non-bank lending market in the U.S.

Headlines to Watch Out For
  • Middle-market loan demand rises with private equity deal activity
  • Net investment income supports dividend amid elevated base rates
  • Rising middle-market defaults pressure NAV and credit loss provisions
Piotroski VR-10 (Strict) 6.0
Net Income: 59.7m TTM > 0 and > 6% of Revenue
FCF/TA: 0.08 > 0.02 and ΔFCF/TA 11.15 > 1.0
NWC/Revenue: 17.06% < 20% (prev 13.48%; Δ 3.58% < -1%)
CFO/TA 0.08 > 3% & CFO 282.9m > Net Income 59.7m
Net Debt (1.90b) to EBITDA (195.6m): 9.72 < 3
Current Ratio: 1.65 > 1.5 & < 3
Outstanding Shares: last quarter (84.8m) vs 12m ago -2.79% < -2%
Gross Margin: 68.27% > 18% (prev 56.02%; Δ 12.25% > 0.5%)
Asset Turnover: 8.10% > 50% (prev 7.84%; Δ 0.26% > 0%)
Interest Coverage Ratio: 1.27 > 6 (EBIT TTM 164.7m / Interest Expense TTM 129.9m)
Altman Z'' 1.14
A: 0.01 (Total Current Assets 134.1m - Total Current Liabilities 81.3m) / Total Assets 3.71b
B: -0.02 (Retained Earnings -92.6m / Total Assets 3.71b)
C: 0.04 (EBIT TTM 164.7m / Avg Total Assets 3.82b)
D: 0.80 (Book Value of Equity 1.65b / Total Liabilities 2.06b)
Altman-Z'' = 1.14 = BB
What is the price of MSDL shares?

As of October 07, 2026, the stock is trading at USD 13.48 with a total of 422,846 shares traded. Over the past week, the price has changed by -2.46%, over one month by -7.45%, over three months by -9.50% and over the past year by -7.95%.

Current recommended Stop Loss: 13.10 (which is 2.8% or 1.4 ATR below the current price).

Is MSDL a buy, sell or hold?

Morgan Stanley Direct has received a consensus analysts rating of 3.43. Therefore, it is recommended to hold MSDL.

  • StrongBuy: 1
  • Buy: 1
  • Hold: 5
  • Sell: 0
  • StrongSell: 0

What are the forecasts/targets for the MSDL price?
Analysts Target Price 15.6 15.8%
Morgan Stanley Direct (MSDL) - Fundamental Data Overview as of 07 October 2026
Market Cap USD = 1.14b (1.14b USD * 1.0 USD.USD)
P/E Trailing = 19.6522
P/E Forward = 7.6982
P/S = 3.0481
P/B = 0.735
Revenue TTM = 309.3m USD
EBIT TTM = 164.7m USD
EBITDA TTM = 195.6m USD
 Long Term Debt = unknown (none)
 Short Term Debt = unknown (none)
 Debt = 1.98b USD (from shortLongTermDebtTotal, last quarter)
Net Debt = 1.90b USD (calculated: Debt 1.98b - CCE 80.2m)
Enterprise Value = 3.04b USD (1.14b + Debt 1.98b - CCE 80.2m)
Interest Coverage Ratio = 1.27 (Ebit TTM 164.7m / Interest Expense TTM 129.9m)
EV/FCF = 10.75x (Enterprise Value 3.04b / FCF TTM 282.9m)
FCF Yield = 9.30% (FCF TTM 282.9m / Enterprise Value 3.04b)
FCF Margin = 91.47% (FCF TTM 282.9m / Revenue TTM 309.3m)
Net Margin = 19.32% (Net Income TTM 59.7m / Revenue TTM 309.3m)
Gross Margin = 68.27% ((Revenue TTM 309.3m - Cost of Revenue TTM 98.1m) / Revenue TTM)
Gross Margin QoQ = 61.25% (prev 79.63%)
Tobins Q-Ratio = 0.82 (Enterprise Value 3.04b / Total Assets 3.71b)
Interest Expense / Debt = 6.56% (Interest Expense 129.9m / Debt 1.98b)
Taxrate = 5.94% (3.62m / 60.9m)
NOPAT = 155.0m (EBIT 164.7m * (1 - 5.94%))
Current Ratio = 1.65 (Total Current Assets 134.1m / Total Current Liabilities 81.3m)
Debt / Equity = 1.20 (Debt 1.98b / totalStockholderEquity, last quarter 1.65b)
Debt / EBITDA = 9.72 (Net Debt 1.90b / EBITDA 195.6m)
Debt / FCF = 6.72 (Net Debt 1.90b / FCF TTM 282.9m)
Total Stockholder Equity = 1.71b (last 4 quarters mean from totalStockholderEquity)
RoA = 1.57% (Net Income 59.7m / Total Assets 3.71b)
RoE = 3.48% (Net Income TTM 59.7m / Total Stockholder Equity 1.71b)
RoCE = 4.54% (EBIT 164.7m / Capital Employed (Total Assets 3.71b - Current Liab 81.3m))
RoIC = 4.29% (NOPAT 155.0m / Invested Capital 3.61b)
WACC = 6.77% (E(1.14b)/V(3.12b) * Re(7.81%) + D(1.98b)/V(3.12b) * Rd(6.56%) * (1-Tc(0.06)))
Discount Rate = 7.81% (= CAPM, Blume Beta Adj.)
Shares (quarterly) Correlation: -79.17 | Cagr: -1.34%
[DCF] Terminal Value 75.44% ; FCFF base≈282.9m ; Y1≈284.1m ; Y5≈300.9m
[DCF] Fair Price = 33.04 (EV 4.68b - Net Debt 1.90b = Equity 2.78b / Shares 84.1m; r=8.35% [WACC [floored]]; 5y FCF grow 0.0% → 2.50% )
EPS Correlation: N/A | EPS CAGR: N/A | SUE: 0.53 | # QB: 0
Revenue Correlation: -41.13 | Revenue CAGR: -3.01% | SUE: -0.23 | # QB: 0
EPS current Quarter (2026-09-30): EPS=0.44 | Chg30d=-4.64% | Revisions=-62% | Analysts=7
EPS current Year (2026-12-31): EPS=1.80 | Chg30d=-1.89% | Revisions=-62% | GrowthEPS=-10.4% | GrowthRev=-10.8%
EPS next Year (2027-12-31): EPS=1.80 | Chg30d=-1.77% | Revisions=-44% | GrowthEPS=+0.0% | GrowthRev=+0.4%
[Analyst] Revisions Ratio: -74% (up=1, down=15)