Bank of America: Raise the target price of Fast Retailing to 77,000 yen, maintain it as one of the top ten preferred stocks in the Asia Pacific region.

Bank of America Securities released a research report stating that Fast Retailing's business profit for the first half of the 2026 fiscal year, ending in late February, increased by 28.3% year-on-year to 386.9 billion yen, exceeding the bank's expectations, with UNIQLO in Japan and the Greater China region being the main drivers. The management team has raised the full-year business profit guidance for the end of August from 650 billion to 690 billion yen, implying a 25.2% year-on-year increase. The management team reiterated at the performance release meeting that the goal for the next five years is for both the European and North American markets to achieve sales of 1 trillion yen each and believes that achieving sales of 3 trillion yen in each region in the medium term is a feasible goal. The bank believes that the growth story of Fast Retailing is still in its early stages, and considering changes in market conditions and increased confidence in the company's medium to long-term growth prospects, it has raised Fast Retailing's target stock price from 73,500 yen to 77,000 yen, corresponding to a forecast price-to-earnings ratio of approximately 41 times for the 2028 fiscal year. The bank reiterated its "buy" rating and maintained Fast Retailing as one of the top ten investment choices in the Asia-Pacific region.