Joyy is poised to rally after unveiling a plan to offer robust returns to its shareholders, according to JPMorgan. The investment bank upgraded the livestream and social media name to overweight from neutral. It also raised its price target on shares to $98 from $35, implying 33% upside from Tuesday's close. "JOYY's share price has substantially outperformed [publicly traded Chinese internet-related companies] since Jan 2025 … due to sizable shareholder returns," analyst Daniel Chen said Wednesday in a note to clients. "We expect more share price upside from here." Founded in the early 2000s in China, Joyy owns several global livestream and social media platforms, including Bigo Live and Likee. In May, Joyy unveiled a shareholder return policy that targets a 15% annual return — a perk that could make its shares more appealing to U.S. investors, in turn, boosting its stock price, per JPMorgan. JOYY 1Y mountain JOYY 1-yr chart Crucially, the company is in a strong financial position to continue delivering robust returns to its investors over the long-term, the bank added. "JOYY has sizable net cash (US$3.2bn in [the first quarter of 2026], or 84% of market cap) and generates rich cash flow from both daily operation and interest income…Therefore, it has sufficient capital to maintain a sustainable shareholder return beyond 2028," Chen wrote. Separately, advertising growth across Joyy's social media and streaming platforms could also nudge shares higher, the analyst added. "We are positive on Bigo Ads's growth outlook supported by sizable programmatic ads market and JOYY's strong data/algorithm know-how in digital entertainment/eCommerce verticals (from Bigo/Likee/Shopline)," Chen wrote. JPMorgan's call falls in line with consensus on Wall Street. Of the 14 analysts covering JOYY, 12 have a buy or strong buy rating on the stock, LSEG data shows. Shares have risen roughly 46% over the past year. The stock gained more than 2% in the premarket following JPMorgan's upgrade.