Wall Street Loves Xiaomi as IPO Sponsors Predict Surging Profits

(Bloomberg) -- Analysts are full of praise for Xiaomi Corp., whose stock is drawing a flurry of bullish ratings after a muted debut in Hong Kong.

Following a mandatory quiet period after its initial public offering last month, joint sponsors Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley both recommend buying the shares. Analysts at JPMorgan Chase and Co. and China International Capital Corp., who worked on the deal, also initiated their coverage with a bullish rating. While Credit Suisse Group AG’s neutral recommendation bucks the trend, the brokerage still predicts the shares will rise to HK$18.60, or 9.4 percent higher than the offer price.

The Chinese smartphone maker rose as much as 2.5 percent in early trading Thursday. The stock has struggled to grind higher in its first month on the Hong Kong stock exchange after a disappointing coming-out party, even after the company’s valuation was cut by almost half. Analysts now predict Xiaomi will rise 22 percent from Wednesday’s close, according to the average 12-month target price compiled by Bloomberg.

Reasons to be bullish include an expected surge in revenue and earnings, driven by Xiaomi’s focus on Internet services and its increasing share of the hardware market in China, according to notes seen by Bloomberg. In a 63-page note to clients titled “Building a mountain one grain at a time,” Goldman Sachs analysts including Piyush Mubayi estimate Xiaomi has as many as 190 million users worldwide.

CICC predicts Xiaomi will grow revenue by 45 percent and earnings by 60 percent at a compound annual growth rate in 2018-2020. Morgan Stanley predicts a 61 percent growth rate for net profit in that period. Xiaomi is expected to release earnings on Aug. 22.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sofia Horta e Costa in Hong Kong at shortaecosta@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Richard Frost at rfrost4@bloomberg.net, David Watkins, Philip Glamann

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