Online entertainment platform Bilibili Inc. (NASDAQ: BILI) had a positive start to the year and the stock reached a record high this week. The China-based tech firm got a major boost on Friday when the stock gained about 6% amid upbeat market sentiment.
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According to a report published by Seeking Alpha, the stock rally was triggered by a bullish statement by Citi. The brokerage predicted that Bilibili would witness “meaningful user growth” for its various services. The analyst said that Bilibili is “one of the few China internet names that enjoys the luxury of spending all they can to drive user growth.” The analyst also reaffirmed the buy rating on the stock, which is in line with the consensus recommendation.
Earlier this year, the market responded positively to Bilibili’s new tie-up with streaming platform QQ Music, owned by Chinese internet giant Tencent Music Entertainment (TME). The announcement triggered a rally and the stock gained in double digits. Through the partnership, the company is looking to leverage Tencent’s more than 600-million users.
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The company has been investing heavily in content acquisition, which in turn continues to attract user traffic. However, the high costs associated with the growth initiatives keep hurting its bottom-line performance. For the third quarter, Bilibili reported a wider net loss as a marked increase in expenses more than offset the impressive top-line performance amid strong user growth.
Bilibili’s shares have been on an upward trajectory for the last several months. They made strong gains during Friday’s early trading hours and reached a record high. In the past twelve months, the stock gained about 45%.