Ares Management price target raised to $118 from $109 at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley raised the firm’s price target on Ares Management to $118 from $109 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. Alternative asset manager stocks ended 2023 up 45% versus traditional asset managers gaining 16%, broader financials being up 12% and the S&P advancing 24%, so good news is “in the price,” the analyst tells investors in a Q4 preview for the group. Despite improvements in the macro outlook, the firm notes that its FY24 and FY25 estimates are “broadly unchanged” as its views reflect an earnings recovery that is “already baked in.”