Shares of China's No.2 e-commerce company JD.com Inc (JD) are a better deal for investors than those of its major competitor Alibaba Group Holding and could rise 30 percent or more over the next year, U.S. financial magazine Barron's said on Sunday.
JD's shares have underperformed Alibaba's since the beginning of August due to misplaced concerns, and JD stands to be among the biggest beneficiaries of China's Double 11 shopping event, the Barron's report said.
The Double 11 shopping event, which is also called November 11 Singles' Day shopping festival, was launched by Alibaba in 2009.
The move was to help merchants on its business-to-customer (B2C) marketplace Tmall promote sales.
A decline in the gross profit margin when JD reported quarterly results in mid-August spooked investors but was not as worrisome as it seemed, according to the U.S. financial magazine.
The slip was due to aggressive promotions in June and a change in the way JD accounts for some third-party logistics costs, Barron's said.
Worries about increased competition from Alibaba were also overdone after it said in September that it would raise its stake in Cainiao Smart Logistics Network from 47 percent to 51 percent.
JD has superior capabilities in middle- and last-mile delivery, Barron's said, citing MKM Partners analyst Rob Sanderson.
JD's shares, which have gained 52 percent this year, have slipped 14 percent since the start of August, compared with a 15 percent gain for Alibaba shares over the same period.
Alibaba shares have doubled in price this year.
