[ET Net News Agency, 6 November 2018] Morgan Stanley raised its target price for China
Merchants Securities (CMSC)(06099) to HK$10.2 from HK$8.82, and upgraded its rating to
"equal-weight" from "underweight".
The research house said CMSC showed improvement in investment banking and investment
income in 3Q. Its valuation premium over peers has also narrowed, at 0.8x 2019 P/B
(similar to the 0.8x peer average).
Morgan said CMSC's current valuation is 0.7x 2018 BVPS, which is slightly below that of
peers under Morgan's coverage (0.8x) given its more volatile prop trading business. Morgan
views that as fair. (KL)