The Zhitong Finance App learned that J.P. Morgan Chase released a research report stating that it raised the target price of China Unicom (00762) by 46% to HK$7.3 from HK$5, while raising the investment rating from “neutral” to “increase holdings.” Among the three Chinese telecommunications stocks, the bank preferred Unicom, followed by China Telecom (00728), and only then China Mobile (00941).

The bank said that Unicom's H share performance in 2023 was more than 20% lower than that of China Mobile and China Telecom, partly due to: 1) disappointing results in the third quarter of 2023, and 2) relatively weak defense in a bear market. The bank raised Unicom's H share investment rating mainly because the bank appreciates Unicom's H shares: 1) the attractive risk-return and faster profit growth and yield are higher than those of their peers, but the valuation is lower; 2) the relatively higher beta will benefit from a rebound in the industry; 3) potential profit growth from the same period last year fell 3% from the third quarter of last year to more than 10% in the fourth quarter. It is expected that the excellent performance of China Unicom Hong Kong shares will continue in the near future.