Shares of MINIMAX-W (00100) surged nearly 10% in morning trading, advancing 9.63% to HK$359.60 as of press time, with trading volume reaching HK$33.60 billion.

Daiwa released a report initiating coverage on MiniMax with a 'Buy' rating and a target price of HK$530. The firm highlighted that the company focuses on competitive model capabilities and cost efficiency, positioning it as one of the few pure AI large-model listed companies poised to benefit from China's AI commercialization trend.

The recent weakness provides an attractive entry point, with upside catalysts over the next 12 months expected to support a valuation re-rating, according to the report.

Daiwa noted that MiniMax has steadily narrowed the capability gap with leading Western model developers while maintaining a strong cost-efficiency advantage. Despite significantly lower research and development spending and fewer resources, its flagship M3 model currently maintains a competitive ranking in global benchmark tests, underscoring the company's strength in model development and execution.

The brokerage believes MiniMax's differentiated cost-performance positioning enables it to effectively capture growing AI demand, particularly from cost-sensitive enterprises and developers.