We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Chinese Stocks to Buy Right Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where PDD Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD) stands against the other Chinese stocks.

Nearly every major equity market is up for the year owing to improved investor sentiments. However, it is an exception for Chinese equity markets that continue to underperform while hovering near the zero-COVID lockdown valuations of three years ago.

Over the past three years, about $6 trillion has been wiped off the value of Chinese stocks.  The global index compiler MSCI has already announced plans to remove up to 60 Chinese stocks from its gauges as it responds to the underperformance of recent years. The cut will signify the waning need and demand for some of the country’s equities to overseas investor’s portfolios. Amid the cuts, the index will still keep hold of some of the best Chinese stocks to buy now.

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The underperformance comes amid growing concerns about the Chinese economy, which continues to send jitters to the investment community.  The Chinese economy has always outperformed the US economy, increasing by 123%  between 2012 and 2022, compared to 58% for the US.

Nevertheless, the Chinese economy has struggled in recent years amid a myriad of problems, including a downturn in the real estate sector, deflation, high debt levels, and a shift in ideology-driven policies that are scaring away foreign firms from the economy.

While the economy grew by 5.2% last year, much higher than 2.5% for the US, it was the lowest pace of growth since 1990, with the exception of the pandemic period. While economists expected the economy to slow even further in 2024, with growth averaging 4.5%, it has started showing signs of recovery. The Chinese economy grew 5.3% in the first quarter and 4.7% in the second quarter.

Nevertheless, the 4.7% growth in the second quarter, while reasonable, is far below the country’s double-digit growth rates in the past decades, which is a major point of concern in the equity markets. On the other hand, the slowdown in economic growth is not the only headwind that scares investors from the Chinese economy.

Deteriorating US-China relations has always rattled investors’ sentiments. With the US hitting Chinese firms with trade tariffs and restricting access to some key technologies, China has also hit back with its fair share of tariffs. The tariff hike on Chinese electric vehicles from 25% to 100% and the imposition of trade tariffs on $18 billion worth of imports underline the ever-deteriorating relations between the two economic powerhouses.

Amid the deteriorating macroeconomics, Chinese stocks have started showing signs of recovering in the second half of the year. Some of the promising sectors include the fixed asset investments sector, which is driven by faster manufacturing and infrastructure investment. Additionally, industrial production and services are also on the rise while playing host to some of the best Chinese stocks to buy.

In July, global hedge funds added holdings of some of the best Chinese stocks to buy now as most took advantage of their depressed valuations after steep pullbacks. Nevertheless, the hedge fund positions holdings remain near a five year low.

Additionally, analysts at BCA Research believe Chinese equities could insulate fund managers from deep losses as global risk assets face fresh dangers. The firm has already upgraded Chinese onshore equities to overweight from neutral.

“We expect Chinese stocks to fall by less than or as much as their global and EM peers in a bear market,” analysts, including chief China strategist Arthur Budaghyan, said in the report. Potential market support from Chinese state-owned funds could temper potential declines, he added.

As the economic situation in China improves and sentiments in the equity market improve, now could be the best time to pay close watch to the best Chinese stocks to buy, likely to outperform heading into year-end.

Our Methodology

To compile the list of the 10 best Chinese stocks to buy now, we scanned through the top 50 companies listed on the US stock exchange from the iShares MSCI China ETF. Analysts believe these companies have significant upside potential. Once we had a consolidated list, we ranked the best Chinese stocks in ascending order of their upside potential, as of August 17.

At Insider Monkey, we are obsessed with the stocks that hedge funds pile into. The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).

PDD Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD)

Hedge Funds Holding Stakes: 86

Stock Upside Potential: 66.94%

PDD Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD) is a Chinese internet giant that owns and operates a portfolio of businesses. Its e-commerce platform offers products in various categories, including apparel, shoes, bags, agricultural produce, and childcare products.

PDD Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD) is one of the best Chinese stocks to buy, as the company is making solid strides in e-commerce through its Temu and Pinduoduo brands. The company’s expansion and achievements have turned PDD into a significant player in the online retail sector, competing with top brands such as Alibaba and JD. Crucially, this significant increase in market presence has also resulted in robust financial results.

PDD Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD) is growing its profits at a rate that outpaces nearly every publicly listed online retail firm. Investors on Wall Street anticipate this swift expansion to persist, projecting earnings per share (EPS) growth of approximately 97% in the upcoming quarter and 85% for the entire year 2024.

The expected growth should be fuelled by Temu, the online marketplace currently available in China and the US.  The company has delivered better-than-expected earnings per share over the past four quarters, underlying growth in the core business.

PDD Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD) is holding an average price target of $218.36 on Wall Street, implying a 66.94% upside potential. Likewise, 86 hedge funds out of 920 tracked by Insider Monkey held stakes in the company as of the end of Q2 2024. As of June 30, GQG Partners is the top investor in the company and has a stake worth $1.44 billion.

Here is what Baron Emerging Markets Fund said about PDD Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:

“We added to our digitization theme by building a position in PDD Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD), a leading Chinese e-commerce platform. Founded in 2015, the company has emerged as China’s second largest e-commerce player, capturing approximately 20% market share. In our view, PDD’s competitive moat lies in its team purchase model that facilitates bulk buying through direct partnerships with manufacturers, thereby eliminating intermediaries (e.g., distributors and middlemen) and lowering costs. Key factors driving the company’s meteoric growth include rising consumer demand for affordable products in China amid an economic slowdown, small-scale merchants seeking alternatives to Alibaba, and superior management execution. PDD’s revenue growth outpaces gross merchandize value growth owing to rising take rates as merchants aggressively compete for consumer traffic on the platform. In our view, PDD should continue to gain market share given its dominance in the value-for-money segment, growing affordable branded product offerings, and high operational efficiency. We believe the company’s growth will be further supported by the recent launch of its international e-commerce platform, Temu, which has become one of the fastest growing apps globally. Leveraging China’s excess manufacturing capacity, Temu has strong negotiating power with domestic suppliers and attracts global consumers with competitively priced products. Temu’s recent initiatives to improve unit economics, coupled with achieving variable breakeven in the sizable U.S. market, showcase management’s skill and commitment to sustained growth. We expect PDD to at least double its earnings and free cash flow in the next three years, with the potential for continued compounding thereafter.”

Overall PDD ranks 3rd on our list of the best Chinese stocks to buy. While we acknowledge the potential of PDD as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than PDD, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.