Key Points Alibaba stock has risen by more than 110% so far this year. It trades at a low valuation despite the run-up in the stock price. Investors still have good reason to be cautious. 10 stocks we like better than Alibaba Group › Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA) has long disappointed investors since the launch of the stock in 2014. Amid political risks, high-profile U.S. investors were initially drawn by its cheap valuation and market leadership, but beginning in late 2020, Alibaba began to sell off ...

Wall Street analysts have grown more optimistic on Alibaba Group (BABA), betting on its cloud and AI momentum. This week, Morgan Stanley raised its 12-month price target from $165 to $200, citing strength in its cloud business and AI investments. The broader tech market has also been electrified by speculative bursts; for instance, Wolfspeed (WOLF) shares briefly spiked over 1,000% intraday following a Chapter 11 restructuring and reincorporation, a reminder of how risk-on sentiment can sweep through secto ...

Group 1 - Alibaba Group Holding Limited is recognized as one of the AI stocks that investors should monitor closely [1] - Citi analyst Alicia Yap raised the price target for Alibaba's stock to $217.00 from $187.00 while maintaining a Buy rating, following the Apsara Conference [1][2] - The increase in price target is supported by higher cloud revenue and capital expenditure assumptions due to strong interest at the Apsara Conference and Alibaba's plans to expand data center capacity in response to rising AI demand [2] Group 2 - Citi views Alibaba as one of the "5-6 global super cloud platforms with full-stack AI services" and believes it is well-positioned for sustainable cloud revenue growth [2] - While acknowledging Alibaba's potential, there are opinions that other AI stocks may offer greater upside potential and lower downside risk [3]

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) is one of the AI Stocks in the Spotlight This Week. On September 24, BofA Securities analyst Joyce Ju raised the price target on the stock to $195.00 (from $168.00) while maintaining a Buy rating. The rating affirmation follows Alibaba Cloud hosting its annual event Apsara Conference. The firm believes that Alibaba is positioned as the world’s leading full-stack artificial intelligence services provider. Moreover, it is accelerating investment in AI and cloud comp ...

Summary of Alibaba Group (BABA) Conference Call Company Overview - **Company**: Alibaba Group (BABA) - **Event**: Alibaba Cloud APSARA Conference, Day 1 - **Date**: September 24, 2025 - **Location**: Hangzhou Key Industry Insights - **AI Development**: Alibaba is currently at Stage 2 of 4 in its roadmap to achieve Artificial Superintelligence (ASI), with predictions that Large Language Models (LLMs) will become the next operating system and AI Cloud will be the next computer [1][14] - **Investment in AI**: The global AI industry has seen over US$400 billion in investments in the past year, with expectations to exceed US$4 trillion in the next five years [14] - **Data Center Expansion**: Alibaba anticipates a 10x increase in total data center power consumption by 2032 compared to 2022 [4][18] Financial Performance and Projections - **Stock Performance**: Following the conference, Alibaba's shares reacted positively, with a 10% intra-day increase. The stock has seen a year-to-date increase of over 110% [1] - **Valuation Scenarios**: The refreshed bull case valuation implies a potential upside of over 40%, with a target price of US$179/HK$174. The bear case valuation stands at US$106/HK$103 [1][5] - **Revenue Growth**: Alibaba Cloud's AI revenues have seen triple-digit growth for eight consecutive quarters, now accounting for 20% of total cloud revenues [5] Product and Service Developments - **AI Model Releases**: Alibaba has released over 300 AI models, achieving 6 million downloads and serving over 1 million customers with 170,000 derivative models [18] - **Flagship Model**: The Qwen3-Max model, with 1 trillion parameters, has surpassed competitors like GPT-5 and Claude Opus 4, ranking third on the Chatbot Arena leaderboard [18] - **Agent Development**: The upgraded low-code Agent development platform has seen over 200,000 developers build 800,000 agents, indicating strong adoption across various sectors [23] Strategic Focus Areas - **Global Expansion**: Alibaba Cloud is expanding its international presence, with new data centers planned in regions including Japan, South Korea, France, UAE, Brazil, Malaysia, Netherlands, and Mexico within the next 12 months [24] - **AI Infrastructure**: The company has significantly increased its AI computing power by 5x and storage capacity by 4x over the past year [23] Risks and Challenges - **Market Risks**: Key risks include lower-than-expected GMV growth due to macroeconomic factors and competition, as well as potential deceleration in cloud revenue growth [7] - **Profitability Concerns**: The quick commerce segment is expected to impact group EBITA negatively in the near term, although improvements in unit economics are anticipated [6] Conclusion - **Investment Recommendation**: The company is rated as a "Buy" with a focus on its growth potential in AI and cloud services, differentiating itself from other platforms through its unique offerings and strategic investments [5][6]

Alibaba (BABA) shares advanced nearly 10% today after the Chinese tech giant announced a partnership with Nvidia (NVDA), marking a pivotal moment in its aggressive push into artificial intelligence (AI). According to the company’s press release, this partnership will integrate Nvidia’s robotics software and physical AI development tools into its cloud platform. More News from Barchart This will enable customers to develop sophisticated applications like autonomous vehicles and humanoid robots. Including ...

Core Insights - Alibaba's first-quarter fiscal 2026 free cash flow turned negative at RMB 18.8 billion, a reversal from a positive RMB 17.4 billion inflow a year ago, primarily due to increased capital expenditures of RMB 38.7 billion focused on AI and cloud infrastructure [1][9] - Despite short-term cash strain, Alibaba's initiatives are yielding results, with Alibaba Cloud growing in the mid-20s percent year over year and Taobao Instant Commerce surpassing 80 million weekly average daily orders, boosting monthly active users by 25% [2][9] - The company has committed RMB 380 billion ($52 billion) over the next three years for AI infrastructure, new data centers, and proprietary inference chips, which could enhance monetization and long-term profitability [3] Financial Performance - Alibaba's share price has surged 92.5% year-to-date, outperforming the Zacks Internet – Commerce industry and the Zacks Retail-Wholesale sector, which grew by 13.5% and 9.2% respectively [7] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 earnings is projected at $8.09 per share, reflecting a 10.2% year-over-year decline [13] Valuation Metrics - Alibaba's stock is currently trading at a forward 12-month Price/Earnings ratio of 17.55X, compared to the industry's 25.03X, indicating a relatively lower valuation [10]

BREAKING: Tech Futures Rise As Micron Easily Beats Views U.S.-listed Alibaba Group (BABA) stock rocketed higher in premarket trading Wednesday after its leadership pledged to boost spending on AI initiatives. Shares of the Chinese e-commerce and cloud-computing giant were poised to reach a new 52-week high. Alibaba expects to spend more than its previously announced target of $53 billion for AI infrastructure, Chief Executive Eddie Wu said at an industry conference in China Wednesday. The announcement comes ...

Core Insights - Alibaba's cloud computing unit experienced a significant growth of 26% year-over-year in Q1 of fiscal 2026, reflecting strong enterprise adoption of its AI models [1][9] - The company is making substantial investments in AI infrastructure, which has led to increased capital expenditures and cash outflows, positioning it to benefit from the growing AI market [2][9] - Recent innovations in Alibaba's AI model portfolio, including the open-sourcing of Wan2.2-Animate and the release of Tongyi DeepResearch, are enhancing its AI ecosystem [3][4] Financial Performance - The cloud division's growth is attributed to technological advancements and strategic partnerships, such as collaboration with S&P Global to provide AI-ready datasets [4] - Despite the strong growth, the company faces challenges in maintaining profitability due to price reductions in AI infrastructure aimed at user acquisition [5] - Alibaba's shares have gained 94.2% year-to-date, outperforming the broader Internet-Commerce industry, which grew by 14.9% [9][10] Competitive Landscape - While Alibaba's cloud growth is notable, global competitors like Microsoft and Amazon have significant advantages, with Microsoft Azure achieving 39% growth and Amazon Web Services at 17.5% [7] - Microsoft and Amazon have deeper capital resources and established enterprise relationships, which pose challenges for Alibaba's international expansion efforts [7] Valuation and Estimates - Alibaba's stock is currently trading at a forward Price/Earnings ratio of 17.41X, compared to the industry's 25.33X, indicating a potential undervaluation [13] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 earnings is $8.09 per share, reflecting a 10.21% year-over-year decline [16]

Summary of Key Points from Conference Call Records Industry Overview China Internet - Focus on multi-modal AI infrastructure with renewed narratives following Alibaba's cloud and capital expenditure performance [1] - Significant developments in AI infrastructure, including new AI model launches such as Alibaba's Qwen3-Next and AI assistants from transaction platforms [1] - Positive growth outlook for companies with AI models and inference chip capabilities, supported by insights from US peers at recent conferences [1] China Consumer - Softer demand and pricing trends observed in 2Q25, with a cautious outlook for the second half of the year due to demand uncertainty [2] - Categories like sportswear and spirits are facing downside risks in pricing, while the restaurant sector is experiencing intensified pricing activity [2] - Structural growth opportunities remain, including demand for experience-based consumption and expansion in lower-tier cities [2] China Spirits - Spirits companies are under pressure due to the anti-extravagance policy, leading to a focus on channel health through destocking and tighter shipment discipline [5] - Expected sales decline of 5-27% in 3Q across coverage, with Moutai expected to remain flat and Wuliangye down 9% [5] - Forecasts for super-premium and upper-mid-end spirits sales and net profit have been cut by up to 6%/8% and 17%/28%, respectively [5] GlobalWafers - Upgraded to Buy based on signs of bottoming in the memory sector and expansion into advanced nodes in the US [6] - Shift towards high-value specialty wafers (SiC, GaN) expected to drive long-term growth and margin expansion [6] - Target price raised to NT$600 from NT$380, with EPS estimates revised up by 7-11% for 2026-2027 [6] Japan Real Estate - Office vacancy rates in Tokyo have decreased from 6% to 2%, driven by increased demand for well-located offices [8] - New office asking rents are growing at a CAGR above 4%, leading to an average target price increase of 8% across Japan real estate coverage [8] Transsion - Downgraded to Neutral due to slowing smartphone shipment growth, despite positive outlook for market share gains and product mix upgrades [8] - Recent shipment growth slowed to -15% YoY in 1H25, but expected to recover to +20% YoY in 2H25 [8] - New target price set at Rmb99, reflecting current trading levels [8] Key Financial Metrics - Alibaba Cloud valuation increased to US$43 per ADS, with cloud growth assumptions lifted to 30-32% YoY for 2Q-4Q FY26E [1] - Alibaba's 12-month target price raised to US$179/HK$174 from US$163/HK$158 [1] - Budweiser APAC's 12-month target price set at HK$9, reflecting strong product portfolio and innovation capabilities [5] Additional Insights - The cautious outlook in the China consumer sector is attributed to macroeconomic factors and policy impacts, which may affect investment decisions [2] - The spirits sector's focus on inventory normalization may lead to short-term softness but could facilitate a quicker recovery [5] - GlobalWafers' strategic pivot towards specialty wafers is seen as a key driver for future growth amidst a recovering memory sector [6]