HK Stock Market Move | JIUMAOJIU (09922) fell by more than 3% again. In Q4, sales of the three major brands under the company all declined. Morgan Stanley lowered the company's rating and target price.

JIUMAOJIU (09922) fell by more than 3% again, dropping by 3.65% to HK$2.64 as of the time of writing, with a turnover of HK$25.2869 million. On the news front, JIUMAOJIU announced that in the fourth quarter of 2024, the daily average sales of Tai Er (self-operated only), Sng Hugu, and JIUMAOJIU stores decreased by 24.6%, 26.9%, and 18.5% respectively compared to the same period last year. Morgan Stanley released a research report stating that same-store sales of Tai Er in the fourth quarter fell by 25% compared to the previous year, widening from the 18% decline in the third quarter, while Sng Hugu's same-store sales decreased by 27%. Tai Er closed 20 stores from September to December last year. The closure of stores before the Lunar New Year indicates that the business outlook is challenging, and the company's focus is on improving existing operations. Morgan Stanley believes that the "downward cycle" of JIUMAOJIU's store network will continue for some time, and the company is optimizing same-store operations. Morgan Stanley lowered JIUMAOJIU's target price by 39.5%, from HK$3.8 to HK$2.3, and downgraded the rating from "hold" to "underperform" due to a 22% cut in profit forecast for 2025. Morgan Stanley stated that the main brand of JIUMAOJIU, "Tai Er," closed new stores in the fourth quarter, and therefore expects that the store network and same-store operations will need time to optimize.