Over 20 stocks have had their ratings adjusted! Brokerage firms: Focus on this area in April

In recent days, a large number of listed companies have released their 2025 annual reports, and securities analysts have also been busy, using the latest data to adjust stock ratings and target prices.

Choice data shows that since late March, more than a dozen stocks have had their ratings upgraded by brokerages, mainly because of strong earnings performance or improving industry conditions; meanwhile, the ratings of nearly 10 stocks have been downgraded, with pressured earnings performance being the main reason.

From analysts’ recent viewpoints, institutions generally believe that external conflicts have not shaken the foundation of A-shares’ long-term slow bull market, and for April allocation, they suggest focusing on areas with higher earnings certainty.

Brokerages have upgraded ratings for these stocks

With the update of a large batch of financial report data, some top-performing stocks have had their ratings upgraded by brokerages, covering sectors such as finance, chemicals, automobiles, coal, pharmaceuticals, and others.

Worth noting is that in recent days, multiple financial stocks have seen their ratings upgraded by brokerages, including China Citic Bank (601998), Postal Savings Bank of China, and CSC Financial (600958), among others.

In the banking sector, Fangzheng Securities (601901) recently upgraded its rating on China Citic Bank to “Strong Buy,” saying that China Citic Bank benefits from the full-license financial ecosystem backed by Citic Group, has been deeply involved in the corporate banking business, and has accelerated its retail-strategy transformation in recent years; going forward, it is expected to maintain steady growth based on the group’s synergistic advantages. Guohai Securities (000750) recently raised its rating on Postal Savings Bank of China to “Buy,” arguing that both the 2025 asset scale and year-over-year revenue growth rates of Postal Savings Bank of China have improved; its strategic layout is keeping pace with the times, and its risk-control system is sound.

Among brokerage firms, CICC upgraded its rating on CSC Financial to “Outperform the Industry,” saying that CSC Financial’s 2025 earnings are growing at a high rate and dividends are steadily improving; asset management income growth has turned positive. With the opportunity in 2026 for residents to increase allocations to equity assets, asset management and proprietary trading are expected to drive earnings growth, and the company’s valuation level has potential to improve.

Cyclical industries such as chemicals and coal have also seen some stocks have their ratings upgraded. For example, CICC (China Jinjin?) Securities (600109) upgraded its rating on Huafeng Chemical to “Buy.” China JInjin (?) Securities believes that the bottom reversal of the spandex (ammonium silk/??) product cycle will occur, and the spandex industry continues to be affected by the post-price-war clearing and ongoing supply-demand structural evolution; spandex prices have continued to rise, sentiment has improved, and it has therefore raised its company revenue forecast.

CSC Financial upgraded China Shenhua (601088) to “Buy,” with a target price of 54.37 yuan. CSC Financial believes that China Shenhua’s core business remains steady; the company’s special reserves have further increased, and it has both dividend potential and willingness.

In the pharmaceutical and biological sector, China Galaxy (601881) Securities upgraded Base Sciences to a “Recommended” rating, saying that the company’s gene-editing technology serves as the cornerstone, and preclinical products and services have fully benefited from the industry upcycle dividends. As the company’s main-investment “thousand mouse and ten thousand antibodies” plan enters the realization period, the company’s performance is expected to deliver a substantial increase.

In addition, brokerages that recently upgraded ratings also include HuaCe Testing (300012), Sinotruk Jinan (000951), Aandisu (600299), CIMC Vehicles, Top Group (601689), and so on.

In the short term, earnings pressure remains; ratings for multiple stocks have been downgraded

A reporter from Securities Times China noted that, recently, brokerages have also downgraded multiple stocks’ ratings, and pressured earnings performance in the short term is the most common reason behind the downgrades.

Cinda Securities recently downgraded Tamas Intelligent Control’s rating, from “Buy” to “Hold.” Tamas Intelligent Control’s annual report shows that in 2025 the company recorded net profit of 98M yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 71%. Cinda Securities believes that the company’s earnings are under short-term pressure due to the coal industry’s cyclical adjustments and intensifying market competition. However, Cinda Securities also mentioned that China’s coal mine intelligent development still has broad room; at the current stage, the intelligent industry is in a period of bridging over a gap, but as an industry leader, the company’s potential value from technological innovation is relatively prominent.

Pacific Securities downgraded Miao Exhibition (Mi‘ao) to “Hold,” also mainly because the company’s short-term earnings are under pressure. In 2025, Miao Exhibition achieved net profit of 137 million yuan, down nearly 12% year on year; Pacific (601099) Securities analysis said that profit was mainly affected by factors such as booth discounts and R&D spending.

Nomura Orient International Securities recently downgraded Xinquan Shares (603179) to “Neutral,” but raised its target price to 61.02 yuan, saying that the company’s performance is under short-term pressure and that its globalization efforts are accelerating. In addition, Nomura Orient International Securities downgraded Hengxuan Technology and Huayu Automotive (600741) to “Neutral.”

Ratings of 3 pharmaceutical stocks declined

In addition, in the pharmaceutical sector, brokerages downgraded ratings of 3 stocks in recent days: Kunming Pharmaceutical (600422), Boya Bio (300294), and Deyuan Pharmaceutical.

In the pharmaceutical sector, Guotai Haitong in a research report released on April 2 downgraded Kunming Pharmaceutical to “Cautious Increase Holdings,” with a target price of 13.06 yuan. In terms of performance, Kunming Pharmaceutical’s 2025 net profit was 350 million yuan, down 46% year on year. Guotai Haitong believes the company was affected by medical insurance cost controls and intensifying industry competition, leading to short-term earnings pressure; considering the company is still in the painful period of channel switching, once inventory reduction is completed and channels are properly aligned, it is expected to recover quickly and achieve growth faster than the industry.

Guotai Haitong also downgraded Boya Bio’s rating to “Cautious Increase Holdings,” with a target price of 20.36 yuan. Guotai Haitong said it is optimistic about the release of potential after Green Cross (Lü Shiz?) is acquired by the company and about the potential of “taking-juice stations” in the company’s next five-year plan; but considering the industry’s increasingly intense competition and possible effects from adjustments to the tax rate for biological products, it downgraded the rating.

Open Source Securities’ research analyst Zhu Haibin downgraded Deyuan Pharmaceutical, a company listed on the National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ), from “Buy” to “Increase Holdings.” In 2025, Deyuan Pharmaceutical achieved attributable net profit of 237 million yuan, up 33.87%. Open Source Securities said that considering that the company’s products may face certain pressure on gross margin when they enter centralized procurement in the future, as well as subsequent R&D expense investment after the innovative drug DYX116, it downgraded the company’s 2026–2027 earnings forecasts and ratings.

Analysts: Focus on directions with higher earnings certainty

In a research report released on April 4, Huayuan Securities stated that overall, the current war situation has little impact on China’s economy; for some industries it is even slightly favorable. It suggested that investors remain patient, cherish the “golden pits,” and actively focus on the energy main line and the directions with better first-quarter reports.

In terms of industry allocation, Huayuan Securities believes that given short-term oil prices remain relatively high, it continues to be bullish on the energy (new and old energy) sector. At the same time, referring to 2010–2011, when oil prices were around $100 per barrel, most of China’s chemical industry chains (excluding large-scale refining and petrochemical integration) still had relatively good room for profitability; in the short term, there may be some disruptions. For defensive positioning, assets such as gold and consumption with high dividends can be allocated. For the offensive side (if further declines or a phase of stabilization occurs), investors can actively consider AI computing power, domestic chips, and semiconductor equipment—areas where demand sentiment is still at a high level—and look for stocks with first-quarter reports that are expected to continue to deliver high growth.

Yang Chao, chief strategy analyst at China Galaxy Securities, believes that from the internal environment, the core logic of policy support, capital entering the market, and China assets being repriced has not changed. At the same time, external conflicts have not shaken the foundation of A-shares’ long-term slow bull market. Meanwhile, as listed companies’ earnings enter a concentrated disclosure period in April, market clues gradually shift toward validation of fundamentals. Sectors with high earnings certainty and continuously improving industry sentiment will become the core direction where capital focuses.

(Responsible editor: Zhang Yan)

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