Bank of America Securities: Raises Guotai Haitong (02611) target price to HK$21.8, rating "Buy"

Bank of America Securities released a research report stating that Guotai Haitong (02611) achieved a net profit of 13.9 billion yuan in the second quarter, an increase of 29% year-on-year, and a year-on-year increase of 178% when calculated on a comparable basis. On a quarterly basis, it rose 117%, in line with earlier profit forecasts. The bank has raised its earnings per share forecast for Guotai Haitong from 2026 to 2028 by 13% to 21%, with the target price increased from 21.4 HKD to 21.8 HKD, reaffirming its "Buy" rating. The bank indicated that Guotai Haitong benefited from the strong performance of the STAR Market and IPOs of technology stocks in the second quarter, estimating that the related revenue contribution in the second quarter was approximately 7 billion yuan, accounting for about 23% of total revenue. Although the technology sector began to undergo adjustments from the third quarter, the bank expects that the impact can be alleviated by the investment returns from Longxin Storage's IPO and the 30% to 50% liquidity discount applied to most technology investments.