Jefferies: Raising Hong Kong Stock Exchange (00388) Target Price to HK$513 to Maintain “Buy” Rating

The Zhitong Finance App learned that the quality and demand for IPOs on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (00388) has improved markedly, the breakout rate has decreased, institutional investor support has increased, the risk of the end of the ban period is manageable, AI sector rotation and the sell-off in the Korean stock market have created market entry opportunities, raising the target price from HK$502 to HK$513, maintaining a “buy” rating. The bank raised the HKEx profit forecast for 2026-2027 by 5% and 6% respectively to HK$18.579 billion and HK$19.42 billion to reflect higher average daily turnover, higher IPO capital raised, and higher net interest income expectations.