Analyzing Scantech AI Systems (NASDAQ:STAI) and Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL)

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) and Scantech AI Systems (NASDAQ:STAI) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, risk and profitability.

Volatility & Risk

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a beta of 0.44, suggesting that its stock price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Scantech AI Systems has a beta of -0.33, suggesting that its stock price is 133% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Morgan Stanley Direct Lending and Scantech AI Systems, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending	0	5	1	0	2.17
Scantech AI Systems	0	0	0	0	0.00

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending presently has a consensus target price of $20.40, indicating a potential upside of 5.64%. Given Morgan Stanley Direct Lending’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Morgan Stanley Direct Lending is more favorable than Scantech AI Systems.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Morgan Stanley Direct Lending and Scantech AI Systems”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending	$253.06 million	6.75	$231.01 million	$2.43	7.95
Scantech AI Systems	$522,166.00	14.31	N/A	N/A	N/A

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has higher revenue and earnings than Scantech AI Systems.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

74.0% of Scantech AI Systems shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 22.8% of Scantech AI Systems shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Morgan Stanley Direct Lending and Scantech AI Systems’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending	54.89%	12.69%	6.52%
Scantech AI Systems	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending beats Scantech AI Systems on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Morgan Stanley Direct Lending

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund is a business development company. It is a non-diversified, externally managed specialty finance company focused on lending to middle-market companies. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund is based in NEW YORK.

About Scantech AI Systems

Scantech AI Systems, Inc. engages in the innovation, emerging technology, and machine learning expertise. ScanTech specializes in developing advanced screening technology that provides the most accurate and fastest detection of prohibited materials. The company was founded on September 5, 2023 and is headquartered in Buford, GA.