PitchBook Launches Late-Stage Company Research Initiative
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Mar 03 2026
0mins
Should l Buy MORN?
Source: Newsfilter
- New Market Analysis Area: PitchBook has launched a Late-Stage Company Research initiative focusing on the world's most influential private companies, with the first report analyzing SpaceX, providing in-depth insights into its business model and market dynamics, thereby aiding investors in understanding performance and market impact.
- IPO Activity Resurgence: After years of delays, IPO activity is regaining momentum for the first time since 2021, shifting attention back to late-stage private companies, with PitchBook's research addressing the gap in consistent, timely analysis that investors demand for transparency.
- AI Giants Evaluation Framework: The report titled 'Ranking the AI Giants' introduces PitchBook's AIBQ framework, designed to evaluate companies like Anthropic, Databricks, and OpenAI on long-term value drivers, offering a consistent, data-driven approach to assessing business quality.
- Quarterly Tracking Reports: PitchBook will publish a quarterly Unicorn Tracker highlighting trends in valuation, fundraising, and exits within the late-stage ecosystem, enabling clients to apply consistent data analysis across workflows such as deal sourcing and strategic planning.
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Analyst Views on MORN
Wall Street analysts forecast MORN stock price to rise
2 Analyst Rating
2 Buy
0 Hold
0 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 187.600
Low
250.00
Averages
285.00
High
320.00
Current: 187.600
Low
250.00
Averages
285.00
High
320.00
About MORN
Morningstar, Inc. is a provider of independent investment insights in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. Its segments include Morningstar Data and Analytics, PitchBook, Morningstar Wealth, Morningstar Credit, and Morningstar Retirement. The Morningstar Data and Analytics segment provides investors comprehensive data, research and insights, and investment analysis to empower investment decision-making. The PitchBook segment provides investors with access to a broad collection of data and research covering the private capital markets. Morningstar Wealth segment brings together its model portfolios and wealth platform; practice and portfolio management software for registered investment advisers; data aggregation and enrichment capabilities; and others. Morningstar Credit segment provides investors with credit ratings, research, data, and credit analytics solutions. The Morningstar Retirement segment offers products designed to help individuals reach their retirement goals.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
Comparison of SCHD and HDV High-Income ETFs
- Yield and Risk: SCHD offers a dividend yield of 3.3%, surpassing HDV's 3%, while maintaining a lower expense ratio of 0.06% compared to HDV's 0.08%, making SCHD more attractive for long-term investors seeking stable income.
- Assets Under Management: SCHD manages $88.9 billion in assets, significantly larger than HDV's $13.4 billion, which enhances SCHD's resilience against market volatility and provides better liquidity for investors.
- Historical Performance Comparison: Over the past decade, SCHD has achieved an average annual return of 12.5%, notably higher than HDV's 9.3%, indicating a more successful stock selection strategy, particularly during the 2016-2021 period, showcasing its long-term investment value.
- Portfolio Overlap and Sector Distribution: The two funds share a 44% overlap in assets, primarily in consumer staples, energy, and healthcare, but SCHD is more concentrated in industrials and communication services, while HDV has a higher allocation in utilities and energy, which may influence investors' sector preferences and risk profiles.
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- Performance Rebound: Although shares fell over 10% through April 21, 2023, Microsoft's earnings report revealed a 17% year-over-year revenue increase to $81.3 billion, with cloud sales rising 29% to $32.9 billion, indicating a positive return on infrastructure investments.
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- Yield and Risk: SCHD offers a dividend yield of 3.3%, surpassing HDV's 3%, while maintaining a lower expense ratio of 0.06% compared to HDV's 0.08%, making SCHD more attractive for long-term investors seeking stable income.
- Assets Under Management: SCHD manages $88.9 billion in assets, significantly larger than HDV's $13.4 billion, which enhances SCHD's resilience against market volatility and provides better liquidity for investors.
- Historical Performance Comparison: Over the past decade, SCHD has achieved an average annual return of 12.5%, notably higher than HDV's 9.3%, indicating a more successful stock selection strategy, particularly during the 2016-2021 period, showcasing its long-term investment value.
- Portfolio Overlap and Sector Distribution: The two funds share a 44% overlap in assets, primarily in consumer staples, energy, and healthcare, but SCHD is more concentrated in industrials and communication services, while HDV has a higher allocation in utilities and energy, which may influence investors' sector preferences and risk profiles.
See More
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- Non-GAAP EPS: Morningstar's Q1 2026 Non-GAAP EPS reached $3.18, indicating a significant improvement in profitability, which reflects the company's robust performance and enhanced investor confidence in its operations.
- Revenue Growth: The company reported revenue of $644.8 million for Q1, marking a 10.8% year-over-year increase, primarily driven by the expansion of its core business and rising market demand, thereby solidifying Morningstar's position in the financial services sector.
- Market Outlook: Morningstar's strong earnings report lays a solid foundation for future growth, particularly as investor demand for its products and services continues to rise, which is expected to drive higher performance in upcoming quarters.
- Investor Confidence: The financial performance not only boosts market confidence in Morningstar's stock but also provides funding support for the company's future strategic investments and expansion plans, further enhancing its competitiveness in the fiercely contested financial market.
See More
Blockworks Plans to Acquire Rivals to Expand Data Platform
- Funding Expansion Plan: Blockworks plans to acquire rivals using undisclosed funds from its recent fundraising, aiming to enhance its digital asset data platform and become a high-quality tool provider akin to Morningstar, thereby increasing market competitiveness.
- Growing Market Demand: With the rapid growth of the crypto market, Blockworks reported over 500% growth in annual recurring revenue last year, demonstrating its strong capability to meet traders' demands for high-quality data, further driving business expansion.
- Addressing Industry Pain Points: In the absence of a unified data provider, Blockworks aims to consolidate fragmented data services to alleviate traders' challenges in accessing information, thus promoting trading and market growth for digital assets.
- Trust Issue Mitigation: The founder of Blockworks highlighted a trust crisis in the crypto market, emphasizing the need for businesses to enhance transparency to gain institutional investor trust, while the company plans to address this by providing reliable data and information to foster broader asset adoption.
See More
SpaceX Targets Summer IPO with $1.75 Trillion Valuation
- IPO Timeline: SpaceX is targeting an initial public offering (IPO) this summer, with a major investor event scheduled for June 11, and management expects to release a public prospectus by late May, providing investors with an opportunity to participate.
- Valuation Expectations: The company aims for a valuation of $1.75 trillion, significantly higher than its $1.25 trillion valuation at the merger with xAI, although analysts consider a $1.5 trillion valuation 'expensive and risky' yet not irrational, reflecting market confidence in its future growth.
- Strong Market Demand: Early reports indicate robust demand for SpaceX shares, with some investors pouring money into opaque secondary markets, demonstrating a strong desire to own shares, which could drive the valuation well above $1 trillion.
- Future Growth Potential: Despite recording a net loss of about $5 billion in 2025, SpaceX's Starlink division's profitability and high growth rates provide strong value support, and as Starship commercializes, the valuation is expected to become progressively easier to justify.
See More
Microsoft's Capital Expenditure Surge Raises Market Concerns
- Surge in Capital Expenditure: Microsoft reported a staggering $37.5 billion in capital expenditures for Q2 2023, a 66% year-over-year increase, which, despite market concerns, is deemed essential for supporting future growth in the AI sector.
- Performance Rebound: Although shares fell over 10% through April 21, 2023, Microsoft's earnings report revealed a 17% year-over-year revenue increase to $81.3 billion, with cloud sales rising 29% to $32.9 billion, indicating a positive return on infrastructure investments.
- Optimistic Market Outlook: The AI market is projected to reach $335 billion in 2023 and soar to $1.3 trillion by 2032, providing Microsoft with a long-term growth tailwind, even as its stock price remains at a multi-year low.
- Attractive Valuation: Despite an overblown market reaction to Microsoft's capital expenditures that drove its price-to-earnings ratio to a multi-year low, analysts believe the stock is undervalued, with investors beginning to recognize this, leading to a gradual increase in its earnings multiple.
See More
Microsoft's Soaring Capex Raises Market Concerns Amidst Valuation Appeal
- Surging Capex: Microsoft's capital expenditures soared to $37.5 billion in its fiscal Q2 ending December 31, marking a staggering 66% year-over-year increase, which, while alarming to the market, is essential for keeping pace with rapid advancements in artificial intelligence and maintaining competitive leadership.
- Cloud Business Growth: The company's cloud division reported a 29% year-over-year sales increase to $32.9 billion, contributing to an overall revenue growth of 17% to $81.3 billion, showcasing its robust performance in the cloud market and significant future growth potential.
- Attractive Market Valuation: Despite a more than 10% drop in Microsoft's stock price in early 2023, hitting a 52-week low of $356.28 on March 30, Morningstar's assessment indicates that the stock is currently undervalued by 38% relative to a fair value estimate of $600, presenting an appealing opportunity for investors.
- Expansive AI Market Outlook: The AI market is projected to reach $335 billion in 2023 and grow to $1.3 trillion by 2032, providing Microsoft with strong long-term growth momentum, although concerns regarding its reliance on OpenAI for a significant portion of its remaining performance obligations have raised investor apprehensions.
See More
