Citibank: Downgraded Pioneer Intelligence (00470) to “neutral” and cut the target price to HK$24

The Zhitong Finance App learned that Citi released a research report stating that it had downgraded the rating of Pioneer Intelligence (00470) from “buy” to “neutral”, and that the target price was drastically lowered from HK$63 to HK$24. The report notes that although leading intelligence management is still optimistic about order visibility, the bank sees early signs of a slowdown in battery capital expenditure from automation company operating data.

Citi predicts that global battery production capacity will increase by 24% and 15% year-on-year in 2027 and 2028, respectively, lower than the 46% year-on-year increase in 2026. As a result, the bank lowered Pilot Intelligence's profit forecasts for 2026 to 2028 by 2%, 19%, and 37% respectively, reflecting lower revenue expectations and higher asset depreciation during the downturn cycle.