Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL – Get Free Report) and Perception Capital Corp. III (NASDAQ:PFTA – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk and valuation.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Morgan Stanley Direct Lending and Perception Capital Corp. III”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending | $275.66 million | 6.34 | $231.01 million | $3.10 | 6.31 |
Perception Capital Corp. III | N/A | N/A | $7.15 million | N/A | N/A |
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has higher revenue and earnings than Perception Capital Corp. III.
Analyst Recommendations
Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2.17 |
Perception Capital Corp. III | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending currently has a consensus price target of $21.42, suggesting a potential upside of 9.49%. Given Morgan Stanley Direct Lending’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Morgan Stanley Direct Lending is more favorable than Perception Capital Corp. III.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
26.9% of Perception Capital Corp. III shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Perception Capital Corp. III shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares Morgan Stanley Direct Lending and Perception Capital Corp. III’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending | 60.60% | 12.57% | 6.36% |
Perception Capital Corp. III | N/A | -28.86% | 1.93% |
Summary
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending beats Perception Capital Corp. III 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 Perception Capital Corp. III
Perception Capital Corp. III does not have significant operations. It intends to effect a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities in the financial technology or financial services ecosystem. The company was formerly known as Portage Fintech Acquisition Corporation and changed its name to Perception Capital Corp. III in October 2023. The company was incorporated in 2021 and is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
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