Tencent clawing its way back from cliffhanger year, winning rave analyst reviews ahead of earnings
- Tencent reports earnings in after-market Hong Kong hours Thursday
- Of analysts polled by Bloomberg, 55 call it a ‘buy’ while none call it a ‘sell’
With the nail-biting heroics of one of its video games, Tencent has seen its shares hit an all-time high, slide off a cliff, then claw themselves halfway back up – all in a matter of 14 months.
Now – with new Tencent games approved to slowly roll out again after China’s industry-wide crackdown and a blizzard of new tech deals added to its huge investment portfolio – the online giant is attracting rave reviews from analysts ahead its fourth-quarter and annual results on Thursday evening Hong Kong time.
Shares of Tencent closed Tuesday in Hong Kong at HK$370 per share, inching up 0.3 per cent. That was up nearly 47 per cent from its October 30 low, when it was trading at HK$252.20.
This year alone, it is up more than 17 per cent. But it remains 22 per cent down from its all-time high on January 23, 2018 of HK$474.60.
A poll by Bloomberg shows 55 analysts call Tencent a “buy”, five a “hold” while none a “sell.”
Meanwhile, Jefferies, Citi, Goldman Sachs and HSBC Global Research have all upped their target price to more than HK$400 a share and maintained “buy” ratings. HSBC cited strong fundamentals that should help the company weather headwinds in near-term volatility.