** Morgan Stanley double upgrades investment bank Houlihan Lokey HLI.N to "overweight" from "underweight"

** Says co generally holds up better than peers in risk-off environments and has a lower beta to the overall M&A cycle

** "HLI's skew to the counter-cyclical restructuring business (30% of revenues) and less volatile Financial Advisory & Valuation business (15% of revenues) makes them a more defensive play," brokerage says

** Adds that co sees more opportunity to acquire smaller boutique advisers during downturns, which drives more revenue upside when the cycle turns

** Four of 9 brokerages rate the stock "buy," 4 "hold" and 1 "strong sell"; median PT is $191 — data compiled by LSEG

** HLI stock down nearly 11% YTD, including session moves; it rose around 45% in 2024

(Reporting by Ateev Bhandari in Bengaluru)

((Ateev.Bhandari@thomsonreuters.com))