BofA Securities analyst Emma Xu raised the price target on Futu Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: FUTU) to $80.20 (from $77.60) while maintaining a Buy rating.

The analyst comments "Management is confident to achieve the new paying client target of 550k in FY24, despite the uncertainties arising from the US election in 4Q. They expected the new paying client breakdown in 2H to be similar to 1H. Given Futu’s track record of prudent guidance and the uncertainties and low-season in 4Q, we think 3Q new paying clients could still remain quite strong. Net client asset inflows were strong at ~HKD50bn in 2Q24 or >HKD80bn in 1H24, compared to ~HKD70bn in FY23. It remained robust into 3Q with a run-rate only slightly lower than 2Q’s. Trading velocity/trading volume remained strong and increased sequentially QTD as clients traded actively amid market swings. Commission rate could decline slightly in 3Q due to less trading of low-value meme stocks and lower commission rate of option trading. CAC per paying client remained below the year-beginning guidance range of HKD2.5-3k in 3Q so far."