Morgan Stanley Crowns the King of 2 Hot New IPO Stocks – Here’s Your Winning Play

Wall Street's IPO game just got spicy. Two fresh faces hit the market – but only one gets Morgan Stanley's golden stamp.

We break down the contenders without the fluff.

The Analyst Pick: Why One IPO Stands Head and Shoulders Above the Rest

Forget the hype trains – institutional money's placing cold, hard bets. Meanwhile, retail investors are still trying to decode 'market capitalization.'

Bottom line: When the suits pick sides, smart money follows. The rest can keep chasing meme stocks.

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The trend line for 2025’s IPO activity is already looking up; there have been 161 IPOs so far this year, putting it on track to exceed last year’s total of 225 by a wide margin.

Seeing opportunity in this expanding field, analysts at Morgan Stanley have been combing through the latest entrants to identify standout picks.

Using the TipRanks database, we’ve looked at two such names that have caught the firm’s attention. Let’s dive in and see which one Morgan Stanley views as the more compelling IPO stock to buy.

The first IPO stock we’ll look at here is MNTN, a connected TV advertising platform that was founded back in 2009. The company bills itself as the ‘hardest working software in television,’ and brings a modern tech slant to bear on the old business of TV advertising. MNTN gives its users a suite of products and functions, designed to target, measure, and automate TV ads, all to achieve the results that marketers expect and need.

MNTN describes its mission as more than just delivering TV ad campaigns; the company aims to help its users make a lasting impact on their target audiences, for long-term business success. The company works to make connected TV advertising simple, with self-serve technology that makes it easy to drive brand conversions, track revenue, measure site visits, and analyze performance.

The company offers a variety of plans, including platforms for B2C, B2B, small business, and enterprise scale. Features include automated optimization, integrations and APIs, creative solutions, and audience targeting. MNTN backs up its adtech with top-notch research. The company has backing from actor Ryan Reynolds who holds the position of chief creative officer and has been active in the firm’s branding.

For investors, the important point is that MNTN went public on May 22, when its shares started trading on Wall Street. The offering saw MNTN put 8.4 million shares directly on the market, while ‘certain existing shareholders’ sold another 3.3 million shares, for a total of 11.7 million shares made available. The shares were priced at $16 per share, and the total IPO raised $187.2 million. The company has a current market cap of $1.7 billion.

Morgan Stanley analyst Matthew Cost likes MNTN, particularly its focus on the small business niche, but he is wary of the company’s prospects. Explaining this stance, Cost writes of the stock, “With the ad tech market largely focusing on servicing larger customers in CTV and smaller customers in traditional performance marketing channels like search and social, MNTN has a clear opportunity to rapidly expand customer count with a key focus on small businesses to grow revenue at a 19% ’24-’28 CAGR. The market currently views MNTN as a strong player, valuing it at a slight discount to ad tech leaders like APP and TTD. We see it as fairly valued, but that said, we see competitive and execution risks limiting multiple upside from here.”

The analyst’s caution is clear from his Equal-weight (Hold) rating on the shares. His one-year price target, of $20, implies a downside of 9.5% by this time next year. (To watch Cost’s track record, click here)

Cost, however, is amongst a minority on Wall Street; while 1 other analyst joins him on the sidelines, with an additional 7 Buys, the stock claims a Strong Buy consensus rating. The average target stands at $26.56, making room for 12-month returns of 20%. (See)

Next on our list is Hinge Health, a company focused on musculoskeletal health, or MSK. Hinge’s founders both suffered serious MSK injuries, and experienced pain and frustration during their rehabilitation. In 2014, they founded the company with the goal of making improved musculoskeletal health, better pain relief, and improved medical outcomes available to its members.

Hinge does all of this with a personalized approach, facilitated by a mobile app. The company’s approach uses personalized programs of exercises, stretches, and health education, designed by physiotherapists and targeted to reduce pain, improve mobility, and develop confidence. The company uses its combination of tech and clinical care to help its members avoid surgical interventions, overcome pain, and reduce their use of pain-relief medications, especially opioids.

Musculoskeletal health encompasses a broad range of issues. Hinge addresses many of them, including acute injury, chronic pain, and post-surgical interventions. By putting its approach on a mobile application, Hinge allows members to work on their MSK rehab from any location.

Looking at the IPO, we find that Hinge’s stock went public on Wall Street on May 22, with an initial price of $32. The company put 8,522,528 shares of HNGE up for public trading, a total that was complemented by 5,143,472 shares that were made available by ‘selling stockholders,’ for a total of 13,666,000 shares in the offering. Hinge raised $437.3 million in the IPO.

This newly public stock has caught the attention of Craig Hettenbach. In his write-up of the shares for Morgan Stanley, Hettenbach lays out a solid case for buying into the company, saying, “In contrast to many digital health companies that benefitted from a material uptick in spending during Covid only to see growth slow materially to single digits, Hinge saw an acceleration in y/y growth to 44% and 50% in the last two quarters, underpinned by strong product ROI (2.4:1), strategic channel partnerships with leading health plans and PBMs, and overwhelmingly positive user feedback… HNGE screens as attractive relative to a broad set of comps, with its growth and gross margin profile toward the high end and valuation near to the bottom.” (To watch Hettenbach’s track record, click here)

These comments back up Hettenbach’s Overweight (i.e., Buy) rating on the shares, although following a strong runup, his $46 price target now suggests modest upside of 3% for the year ahead. Shares in HNGE are currently selling for $44.53. (See)

After looking into the details, it’s clear that Morgan Stanley sees Hinge Health’s shares as the superior IPO stock to buy right now.

To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights.