By Sam Boughedda

Investir.com — Morgan Stanley Analyst Eddy Wang reiterated an overweight rating and $80 price target on Chinese e-commerce company JD.com Inc (NASDAQ:) on Wednesday, but told investors there was uncertainty coming.

Wang said the company was showing strong results, but the Omicron and Covid-related lockdowns are negatively impacting revenue growth.

The company beat its revenue estimates, but on Tuesday reported its slowest quarterly growth on record.

“We expect JD’s revenue to grow 6% year-on-year in 2Q22 amid the uncertain Covid situation and continued lockdowns. With online retail merchandise sales in China down 5.2% in YOY in April, according to NBS, we expect JD’s revenue to register a year-over-year decline in April given its greater exposure to 1st tier cities (i.e. BJ, SH, GZ , SZ) that experienced closures in April,” Wang wrote.

He added that despite a gradual recovery in JD’s revenue from May, uncertainty remains given the evolving situation of Omicron.

The analyst also pointed to the 618 e-commerce shopping festival in China, explaining that although management pointed out that merchants are more proactive in participating in the promotion compared to previous years, the high base of 618 sales in 2021, along with potentially weak consumer sentiment, could lead to slower revenue growth in the second quarter.

JD.com’s ADRs are down 4.9%.