Tencent Slump Erases $55 Billion as Analysts See Only Gains

(Bloomberg) -- Tencent Holdings Ltd. may be selling off, but analysts are the most bullish on record.

The Chinese tech giant fell for the fourth time in five sessions Tuesday as angst over U.S. technology stocks returned. This is after $55 billion in was wiped out from its Nov. 21 high through Friday with global investors cashing in some of this year’s best equity performers.

The slump has widened the spread between Tencent’s share price and analysts’ price targets to an unprecedented 19 percent. Of the 40 stock watchers surveyed by Bloomberg, 98 percent maintain a buy rating on Tencent -- that’s the highest proportion ever.

The disparity shows the recent rout may be just a blip for Tencent, whose Hong Kong-listed shares have more than doubled in this year.

The stock is the biggest driver of the MSCI China Index’s 48 percent gain in 2017, contributing eight points to the gauge’s move, 53 percent more than than the second-largest contributor, the US-listed Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.

©2017 Bloomberg L.P.