UPDATE: Morgan Stanley Reiterates On WEX On Solid Underlying Fundamentals

In a report published Thursday, Morgan Stanley analyst Smittipon Srethapramote reiterated an Equal-Weight rating on

, and raised the price target from $114.00 to $117.00. In the report, Morgan Stanley noted, “There were a lot of moving parts in the quarter, but in total WEX reported a relatively in-line quarter with revs of $222.1mn vs. Cons $221.2mn (MSe $221.5mn) and a headline beat on Adj EPS of $1.56 vs. Cons and MSe $1.34. The EPS beat was primarily driven by a one-time tax benefit of $0.29, and was partially offset by a $0.21 FX headwind from translation on foreign cash balances. Operating income and EBITDA beat our estimate by 4%, driven by lower salary and personnel costs (excluding acquisition-related expenses). Both segments reported revs in line with our estimates.” WEX closed on Wednesday at $108.14.