Bank of America Securities: Raises target price for Hong Kong Exchange (00388) to HKD 520, expects net profit to increase by 31% in the first half of the year, reiterates "buy" rating

According to the Zhitong Finance and Economics APP, Bank of America Securities released a research report stating that it is expected that the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (00388) will achieve a net profit of 8 billion Hong Kong dollars in the first half of the year, a 31% increase from the same period last year. The average daily trading volume in the second quarter is expected to remain at a high level of 238 billion Hong Kong dollars (compared to 122 billion Hong Kong dollars in the same period last year), supporting strong trading fee income and settlement fee income. Bank of America Securities maintains its unchanged full-year profitability forecast for the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and raises its profit forecast for next year and the year after by 6% to 7%. The target price has been raised from 440 Hong Kong dollars to 520 Hong Kong dollars, equivalent to a forecasted price-earnings ratio of 40 times for merged years 2025 to 2026, reiterating a "buy" rating.