The REA Group Limited (ASX: REA) share price is one of the best performers on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) on Wednesday.
In afternoon trade, the property listings company's shares are up 5% to $140.36.
Today's gain means the REA Group share price is now up a sizeable 28% over the last six months.
Why is the REA Group share price outperforming today?
Investors have been buying the company's shares this morning after it was the subject of a bullish broker note out of Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG).
According to the note, the broker has upgraded its shares to an outperform rating from neutral and increased the price target on them to $171.70.
Based on the current REA Group share price, this price target implies potential upside of 22% over the next 12 months. That's even after factoring in today's strong gain.
What did Macquarie say?
The note reveals that Macquarie made the move after its industry research pointed to a preference among real estate agents for REA Group's platform ahead of rival Domain Holdings Australia Ltd (ASX: DHG).
It feels this bodes well for the company and suspects it will be in a position to increase listing prices due to its superior audience size. In respect to this point, when the company released its half year results last month, it revealed that it was commanding over 3 times more traffic to its site than its nearest rival.
Macquarie isn't the only bullish broker. A note out of Morgan Stanley last month reveals that its analysts have an overweight rating and $175.00 price target.
Whereas a note out of Goldman Sachs in February shows that its analysts have a buy rating and $159.00 price target on its shares.
In light of the above, despite being up 28% over the last six months, the REA Group share price appears to have the potential to keep on climbing.
