Morgan Stanley: Maintains "Overweight" rating on LI NING (02331), target price HK$22.5

Morgan Stanley released a research report maintaining an "Overweight" rating on LI NING (02331), with a target price of HK$22.5. The company recorded a high single-digit or greater decline in retail sales in July this year, but the trend improved in August, with the offline decline narrowing, while online sales were driven by livestreaming activities. Overall retail sales in August were relatively stable year-on-year. The company believes it is still too early to comment on September trends, but expects the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday to support September performance. The bank noted that LI NING saw deeper offline retail discounts from July to August due to industry competition and a higher proportion of outlet sales, but this was not driven by inventory clearance, as the company had previously lowered its second-half orders.