Houlihan Lokey price target raised to $163 from $146 at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley analyst Ryan Kenny raised the firm’s price target on Houlihan Lokey to $163 from $146 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. The Fed is cutting rates faster than the firm expected in a soft landing environment and recession risk is “even lower,” the analyst tells investors. With sponsor activity set to accelerate meaningfully and election and regulatory clarity “coming soon,” the firm now bakes in a return to average industry M&A activity relative to GDP in 2025 and an overshoot above average in 2026-27, moving it toward the “bull case” for midcap advisors, the analyst noted.