FAST NEWS: JPMorgan boosts Kanzhun stake

The Latest: U.S. banking giant JPMorgan purchased about 10.73 million Hong Kong-listed shares of Kanzhun Ltd. (BZ.US; 2076.HK) on Jun. 3, raising its stake in the operator of the Boss Zhipin recruitment app from 6.51% to 7.94% at an average price of about HK$81.87 per share, according to a new Hong Kong Stock Exchange filing.

Looking Up: Such an increase by a major institutional buyer is usually a positive sign, implying the investor is optimistic on the company’s prospects and believes the stock may have some upside.

Take Note: JPMorgan also increased 1.21 million shares of short position in the company, holding a total short position of approximately 4.8 million shares, accounting for 0.63% of the company’s issued share capital.

Digging Deeper: Kanzhun operates Boss Zhipin, one of China’s top recruitment platforms, and went public in New York in 2021 and made a second listing in Hong Kong a year later. The company bet on the Qatar World Cup as a major promotional opportunity in 2022, significantly raising its brand awareness to capitalize on China’s post-pandemic rebound. Concurrently with its release of the latest results, Kanzhun also announced a new program to buy back up to $200 million of its shares over 12 months starting March 20.

Market Reaction: Kanzhun’s Hong Kong shares fell on Tuesday and closed down 2.7% at HK$82.15 by the midday break. The stock now trades near the lower end of its 52-week range.

Translation by A. Au

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