What happened

Shares of Baozun (BZUN 3.33%) were climbing last month after the Chinese e-commerce services provider posted better-than-expected earnings results during the peak of China's coronavirus lockdowns. That sparked a rally that propelled the stock up 45% over the course of the month, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

As you can see from the chart below, the gains came in two separate spurts.

BZUN Chart

BZUN data by YCharts

So what

Baozun began the month with a burst, jumping 10.8% on June 1 in anticipation of its earnings report the following day and then gaining another 10.7% after the report came out. During the pandemic-afflicted quarter, Baozun's revenue rose 18.4% to $215.2 million, easily beating estimates of $202.3 million. Higher-margin services revenue grew even faster, rising 22.9% to $116.2 million. On the bottom line, adjusted profit per share fell by about half to $0.06, though that was ahead of expectations of $0.02. Management cited incremental costs from the pandemic weighing on profits, but also said the crisis helped it reinforce its market leadership.

The Baozun logo spelled out with its clients' names.

Image source: Baozun.

Investors were also encouraged by second-quarter guidance; the company sees sales accelerating as the Chinese economy reopens, forecasting gross merchandise volume (GMV) growth of at least 25%, up from 17.6% in the first quarter. It also called for revenue growth of 20% to 23% for the quarter.

Later in the month, Baozun got another boost, climbing 11.5% on June 17. Investment research company Zack's called it its Bull of the Day, rating it a strong buy.

Now what

Baozun has jumped out to a hot start in July as well, climbing 9.6% in the first two sessions though there was no company-specific news out. Instead, investors seem to be keying in on Chinese e-commerce stocks just as they have with their U.S. e-commerce counterparts, as the Chinese e-commerce sector is likely to benefit from the pandemic as well. Stocks like JD.com, Pinduoduo, and Alibaba have all hit all-time highs in recent weeks, riding a tailwind in the sector. Baozun is still down about a third from its all-time high in 2018, but that could change if this recent momentum continues.