Brokerage cuts MAS target price by 43%

[PETALING JAYA] Maybank IB Research has slashed 43 per cent off its target price for Malaysia Airlines (MAS) to 12.5 sen on concerns that the ailing airline cannot wait six to 12 months for a new turnaround plan.

This is the lowest value tagged to MAS in recent times by a brokerage. Maybank IB Research's target price is 44 per cent lower than MAS' last close of 22.5 sen, according to a report in Malaysia's The Star daily on Monday.

Bloomberg data showed that the 15 analysts covering MAS had target prices ranging from as low as 10 sen (Affin Research) to 27 sen (AmResearch). This translates into a consensus target price of 17 sen for the flag carrier, implying a 24 per cent downside to its current price.