Sina Shares Hit 52-week High After Upgrade

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Sina Corp. hit a 52-week high Monday after a Morgan Stanley analyst upgraded the Chinese Internet portal operator and said its advertising sales will grow 35 percent in 2010.

Analyst Richard W. Ji upgraded Sina to "Overweight" from "Equal-Weight." He said the company's top three advertising categories — autos, property and financials — "are heavily leveraged to the economic recovery."

The analyst's forecast of a 35 percent jump in the company's ad sales in 2010 compares with an estimated 11 percent decline this year.

"On our estimates, (about 40 percent) of Sina's readers hold college degrees (vs. 5 percent to 6 percent for Chinese public), which should be appealing to premium advertising clients, who will likely lift their marketing budgets in 2010," the analyst wrote in a note to investors.

Ji added that Sina may "deliver upside surprise" on its third-quarter results.

The company's shares rose $2.35, or 6.1 percent, to $40.99 in afternoon trading. Earlier, the stock hit a 52-week high of $41.35.