Jefferies: Raises the target price of SEMI (00981.HK) to HKD 78, maintains a "Neutral" rating.

According to the Zhitoong Finance APP, JPMorgan has released a research report maintaining a "Neutral" rating on Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (00981.HK), raising the target price from HKD 67 to HKD 78. JPMorgan stated that SMIC's gross margin in the second quarter was 25.3%, which is 3.6 to 4 percentage points higher than the bank's and market expectations; the gross margin guidance for the third quarter is 26% to 28%, also significantly above the market expectation of around 22%. The main drivers are strong demand related to artificial intelligence leading to supply tightness and prompting price increases.