Sea Limited (NYSE:SE) moved higher in premarket trading on Monday, rising 2.9%, after the company rolled out a substantial new share repurchase authorization and picked up a bullish call from an analyst.
The Singapore-headquartered group — which operates major digital entertainment, e-commerce, and fintech platforms across Southeast Asia and Taiwan — said its board has approved a plan allowing the company to buy back up to $1 billion worth of its American depositary shares. Sea noted that decisions on the size and timing of each repurchase will depend on market conditions and other business considerations.
According to the company, the newly announced plan “demonstrates the Company’s confidence in its long-term prospects and allows the Company to opportunistically repurchase its shares.” Sea added that buybacks may be executed through multiple channels, including open-market purchases, negotiated deals, block trades, or through derivatives.
Investor sentiment received an additional lift after Phillip Securities analyst Helena Wang upgraded Sea Limited from Neutral to Buy, maintaining a price target of $170.
Wang wrote, “We raised our FY25/26 revenue by 3%/4% to reflect improved growth in all three segments. We increase FY25/26 selling & marketing expense by 5% to account for the elevated investment. Our DCF target price remains unchanged at US$170, with a terminal growth rate of 4.5% and a WACC of 7.6%. We upgrade our recommendation from NEUTRAL to BUY due to recent share price movement.”
Sea operates three major business divisions: Garena in digital gaming, Shopee in e-commerce, and Monee in digital financial services. The repurchase authorization marks one of the company’s largest capital return plans to date and signals its confidence in the long-term trajectory of its core markets.