The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price is on course to end the week on a very positive note.
Earlier today, the payments company’s shares were up as much as 6% to $159.28. That left the Afterpay share price trading within a whisker of its record high of $160.05.
However, if one leading broker is correct, it may not be long until the Afterpay share price smashes through its record high and ascends even higher.
Why is the Afterpay share price racing higher?
Investors have been fighting to get hold of Afterpay shares on Friday after it was the subject of yet another bullish broker note.
According to a note out Morgan Stanley, its analysts have retained their overweight rating and lifted their price target on its shares by 25% to $170.10.
Why is Morgan Stanley bullish on Afterpay?
The broker made the move after looking through recent results and updates from buy now pay later (BNPL) providers.
It notes that Afterpay and other BNPL providers are continuing to grow at rapid rates despite the increase in competition from the likes of PayPal and Shopify.
One thing in particular that attracts Morgan Stanley to Afterpay is its industry-leading repeat purchases metric. It feels this is a big positive and should support strong revenue growth.
In addition to this, it notes that many of its competitors have been increasing their offerings with other product lines. Whereas Afterpay is only in the early stages of doing so. If it succeeds with this, it could bolster its growth further.
Does anyone else think the Afterpay share price can go higher?
Analysts at Bell Potter have a similar view to those at Morgan Stanley.
As I mentioned here recently, it suspects that the upcoming launch of transaction accounts in collaboration with Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) could be a precursor to the company offering other products. This includes home loans, investment products, and personal loans.
The broker believes that the Afterpay-Westpac collaboration should be worrying Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA).
It explained: “We see this as a step change in APT’s product offering, and as a deliberate strategy for WBC to break CBA’s stranglehold on the millennial banking market. We believe CBA should be worried, and perhaps is, which is seen with comments from their CEO Matt Comyn at the Banking Summit in November last year, who noted Afterpay as a potential threat to the banking sector over time.”
Bell Potter is also tipping the Afterpay share price to climb beyond its record high. It currently has a buy rating and $168.00 price target on its shares.
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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.
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