UPDATE: Morgan Stanley Reiterates Equal-Weight Rating, Raises PT on Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment Corp. on Better Book Value, Solid Earnings

In a report published Tuesday, Morgan Stanley analyst Cheryl M. Pate reiterated an Equal-Weight rating on Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment Corp. (NYSE: CHMI), and raised the price target from $20.00 to $21.00.In the report, Morgan Stanley noted, “Cherry Hill's reported 50c in core earnings for its first operating quarter, and beat our expectations on solid net interest income. Management remains focused on its excess MSR and agency MSR strategies. In the first quarter, Cherry Hill agreed to purchase ~$76.8m in excess servicing UPB from Freedom Mortgage. While 1Q13TD volumes are light of our prior forecast ($1.4B), the purchases show execution on further excess MSRs and we expect volumes to increase on a go‐forward basis. Additionally, management is planning to pursue the appropriate licenses and approvals within its taxable REIT structure to be able to own MSRs outright, a positive in our view.”Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment Corp. closed on Monday at $18.75.