05:30 AM EDT, 05/27/2025 (MT Newswires) -- CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:

We lower our opinion to Hold (from Buy) and cut our target price to USD18 (from USD25), valuing ZTO at 11.1x 2025 P/E, a 26% discount to its three-year average P/E of 14.9x. The discount reflects intensifying competition in China's express delivery market and ZTO's first market share decline since 2011 (19.4% in 2024 vs. 22.9% in 2023). ZTO guides for 20%-24% parcel volume growth in 2025, exceeding the industry outlook, supported by retail parcels (+46% in Q1) and reverse logistics (over 150% growth). We project operating margins to decline to 24.5% in 2025 (26.6% in 2024), pressured by an expected 8% Y/Y decrease in fee per parcel amid heightened competition. This should be partially offset by cost efficiency improvements, as demonstrated by Q1's 13.2% decrease in unit transportation costs and 10.4% reduction in sorting costs through route optimization and automation. Our EPS estimates for 2025/2026 are CNY11.67/CNY12.62 (from CNY12.97/CNY13.93), as margin pressures offset volume gains.