A flurry of large trades in Naspers affiliate Tencent shows Asia’s biggest stock will struggle to avoid its worst week in months.
Three blocks totalling more than a million shares were conducted off-exchange just before 10am in Hong Kong. While the trades were only worth about HK$355-million (US$45-million), they all crossed at HK$319.50 — just below this year’s key support level. The trades were conducted by three brokers, according to people who saw the trades, signalling multiple entities were involved.
Tencent shares have been in focus this week after a mystery drop on Wednesday weighed on the broader Hong Kong market. Analysts are sticking with their bullish calls before the Chinese Internet giant’s third quarter update next month, with Citigroup’s Alicia Yap lifting her price target on the stock.
While it’s unclear whether the block trades were carried out by dip buyers or large shareholders trimming their stakes, Tencent’s drop just after 10am on Thursday shows investors remain nervous. Tencent has lost almost $100-billion in value since April, trading at the lowest price since January.
Tencent is one stock that analysts have loved for years, with none of the 57 ratings tracked by Bloomberg saying sell. The average HK$414.19 target price implies a 30% gain from Thursday’s close. Tencent has lost 3.9% this week, on track for the worst performance since early August. — Reported by Sofia Horta e Costa and Stephen Tan, (c) 2019 Bloomberg LP