Amazon will thrive in India even after Walmart's acquisition of the e-commerce market leader in the South Asian country, according to one Wall Street firm.
Citi Research reiterated its buy rating for Amazon shares, predicting strong growth for its international businesses.
Walmart announced plans last week to acquire an initial stake of about 77 percent in Flipkart, India's top e-commerce company, for $16 billion.
"We believe the India e-commerce market will grow at a 21% CAGR over the next 10 years to $202bn, that Amazon could capture 35% of this market. ... That suggests that Amazon India could be currently worth $16bn," analyst Mark May said in a note to clients Thursday. "In short, not only do we believe that investors continue to under-estimate the value of Amazon's existing Emerging International Retail Markets businesses, but also the pace and value of its recent international expansion efforts."
A valuation of $16 billion makes the business worth more than 170 companies in the S&P 500, including Clorox, Macy's and Tiffany & Co.
May reiterated his $1,900 price target for Amazon shares, representing 20 percent upside to Thursday's close.
The analyst noted Amazon has committed to spending $5 billion to build its business in India, whose population of 1.3 billion makes it the world's second-largest country.
"Amazon's investments in India have been consistent with a strategy for long-term success," he said. "For instance, the company has aggressively built out its distribution network to service the third-party sellers and customers it serves in the market."