[ET Net News Agency, 6 December 2019] Morgan Stanley raised its target price for PICC
Group (01339) to HK$3.6 from HK$3.5 and maintained its "equal-weight" rating.
Despite a strong P&C performance and evident L&H (Life & Health) improvement, the stock
was still down 1% year-to-date in 2019. Its VNB (value of new business) growth is tracking
at the highest level amongst peers in 2019, from a small base, said the research house.
Morgan believes the company still has more headroom to expand its sales force and
improve product mix, which could support a higher-than-peers' growth rate in 2020.
Over the medium term, Morgan acknowledged that its quality transformation could create
significant shareholder value - implied Life & Health capitalization is still negative.
However, it said that patience is still required. (KL)