JPMorgan Downgrades Hamilton Lane Inc. (HLNE) to Neutral, 'Proves Defensive in a More Challenging Environment'

JPMorgan analyst Kenneth Worthington downgraded Hamilton Lane Inc. (NASDAQ: HLNE) from Overweight to Neutral with a price target of $115.00.

The analyst comments "We are downgrading Hamilton Lane from Overweight to Neutral. We upgraded the stock to Overweight in March 2023 in the midst of the regional banking crisis, as we thought Hamilton Lane was being overly penalized by the investment community for perceived concerns that the failures of SIVB and SBNY could create a number of risks including 1) the ability of Hamilton Lane portfolio companies to fund themselves, 2) the ability of Hamilton Lane funds to call capital and retrieve already called capital, 3) for Hamilton Lane itself as a GP itself to recover corporate cash deposits at certain regional banks and 4) that lines-of-credit from banks could have been at risk looking forward. However, we saw these risks more limited for Hamilton Lane specifically given its cautious/conservative approach to managing its business as well as more limited exposure to the specific banks that seems most vulnerable in March 2023. Furthermore, Hamilton Lane was experiencing improved organic growth in 2022 and early 2023 even as peers were working through a slowdown in gross sales and somewhat of a pickup in gross redemptions. We think this relative strength in Hamilton Lane fundraising was being driven by increased investments to both grow and broaden its sales force. Since March 2023, Hamilton Lane’s stock price has recovered smartly, and we now see the shares as more appropriately valued with the stock price at our Dec 2024 price target of $115. Though we see upside still in HLNE shares longer term and while we remain positive on the company, the management team, and the stock over the longer term, we see tactical investment opportunities more attractive elsewhere in the near term. We maintain our $115 Dec 2024 price target for Hamilton Lane, but move our rating to Neutral."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Hamilton Lane Inc. click here. For more ratings news on Hamilton Lane Inc. click here.

Shares of Hamilton Lane Inc. closed at $115.17 yesterday.

You May Also Be Interested In

• Fiserv (FISV) PT Lowered to $60 at Freedom Broker
• Powell Industries (POWL) PT Lowered to $235 at Cantor Fitzgerald
• Freedom Broker Upgrades Serve Robotics (SERV) to Buy