Morgan Stanley Direct Lending initiated with an Outperform at RBC Capital

RBC Capital analyst Kenneth Lee initiated coverage of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending with an Outperform rating and $21 price target. The firm is positive on the company’s ability to leverage Morgan Stanley’s relationships and network for a potentially differentiated sourcing pipeline and focus on shareholder alignment to drive comparable ROE to peers even with a conservative portfolio, the analyst tells investors in a research note. RBC further cites Morgan Stanley Direct Lending’s higher-than-peer average dividend yield of 12.2% in estimating a total return of 14% for the stock.