JPMorgan issued a research report reiterating an "Overweight" rating on FWD (01828) with a target price of HK$47.

FWD reported a 9% year-over-year increase in first-quarter new business value to $314 million, significantly exceeding the bank's forecast of $244 million. This growth was achieved despite a high comparison base. The new business contract service margin rose by 1.2 percentage points year-over-year to 43.5%, while the new business contract service margin increased by 8.7 percentage points to 78.4%. These improvements were primarily driven by an enhanced product mix and operational leverage resulting from cost controls in Hong Kong.

The bank noted that although FWD's quarterly disclosures are limited, the company's continued growth in the first quarter of this year, following a record high in the same period last year, should be viewed as a positive signal. Additionally, the stock has declined approximately 19% year-to-date, underperforming the Hang Seng Index, which has gained 2% over the same period.