What happened
Shares of Sea Limited (SE +1.01%) were gaining today after the Southeast Asian digital gaming and e-commerce stock got some bullish analyst coverage following its first-quarter earnings report earlier this week. It also rose alongside broader gains in high-growth tech stocks today.
As of 2:39 p.m. EDT on Thursday, the stock was up 6.5%.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
Sea Limited stock gained on Tuesday following another quarter of blowout growth, showing the company is rapidly capturing the e-commerce opportunity in Southeast Asia, while also rapidly growing its highly profitable digital gaming division. Yesterday, Morgan Stanley saluted the stock as analyst Mark Goodridge said the company's strong results show that its "super app" strategy is playing out, noting its success in mobile gaming, e-commerce, and digital payments. Goodridge maintained an overweight rating and a price target of $300.
This morning, Credit Suisse analyst Varun Ahuja raised his price target on Sea from $325 to $330, maintaining an overweight rating on the stock.
Meanwhile, growth stocks rose broadly today, seemingly in response to a better-than-expected unemployment claims report this morning. New claims reached their lowest level since the pandemic started, showing the job market is on its way to a full recovery. The Nasdaq was up 1.8% in afternoon trading and the ARK Innovation ETF, one proxy for high-growth stocks, was up 3.4%.
Now what
Sea Limited is one of the most impressive growth stories on the market today with revenue up 147% to $1.8 billion in the first quarter. And though it sees that growth rate moderating over the rest of the year as it laps the impact of the pandemic last year, the company is still calling for e-commerce sales to more than double this year.
Sea is still unprofitable and trades at a high multiple, but the company is tackling large addressable markets across major geographies including Southeast Asia, Latin America, and India. If it continues to execute, the stock could have considerable upside from here.
