Country Garden Holdings Co. has lost its last stock buy rating from major international brokerages, as the embattled Chinese property giant edges ever closer to a maiden public bond default.
Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s Calvin Leung became the latest analyst to cut Country Garden to a ‘hold’ recommendation, citing a weaker sales outlook in low-tier cities and the lingering risk of a share placement to raise fresh funds.
The downgrade follows a flurry of similar moves by investment banks from JPMorgan Chase & Co. to Morgan Stanley in recent days, as China’s former top developer by sales saw its stock and bonds tumble as a liquidity crisis worsened. The move also coincides with a warning by Country Garden that it faces “major uncertainties” over bond payments, the strongest sign yet that a default may be imminent.
A 75% slump from a January high has made Country Garden a Hong Kong penny stock, shrinking its market value to just $2.8 billion from an all-time high of around $50 billion in 2018. The stock fell as much as 4.8% Thursday morning, after a two-day rebound.
The downbeat view among foreign brokerages stands in contrast to that of their local counterparts, who have mostly held on to a buy rating on Country Garden, a discrepancy often observed for other Chinese stocks as well. Analysts’ average 12-month target price for the stock stands at HK$1.1, representing a 33% upside from Wednesday’s close, according Bloomberg-compiled data.
--With assistance from Kevin Kingsbury.
