Ares Management initiated with an Equal Weight at Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo analyst Michael Brown initiated coverage of Ares Management with an Equal Weight rating and $156 price target. Private credit is a well known area of differentiated strength for the company and will likely continue to be because of durable advantages such as the power of incumbency and broad access to transaction flow, though the firm questions the ability to surprise on the upside in already large, strong performing businesses or to quickly develop a “needle moving” new growth driver, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Wells prefers stocks that are more obvious beneficiaries of Fed easing, especially those that have been laggards year-to-date, the firm added.