Alibaba Stock Rises on Analyst Hike, Cloud Growth

Alibaba’s stock had a better Tuesday than most people’s dating lives. Its American depositary receipts (ADRs) climbed 4%, while the S&P 500 sputtered upward by 0.3%. Investors, those eternal optimists, clutched at straws like survivors on a life raft. One straw, it turns out, was Barclays’ Jiong Shao.

A 31% Gamble

Before the market opened, Shao-armed with spreadsheets and caffeine-raised his price target for Alibaba from $145 to $190 per ADR. An “overweight” recommendation followed. The man knows numbers, not necessarily the chaos that follows them. So it goes.

His reasoning? Alibaba’s cloud computing unit, which grew 26% year-over-year. A unit, he argued, that might yet defy gravity. Profit margins, he said, would hold. Perhaps. Or maybe they’ll evaporate like morning dew. Only time, that great magician, will tell.

Alibaba’s Q2 report was a box of chocolates. Most were bitter-revenue and profits missed estimates-but there were a few sweet surprises. The cloud unit glowed. E-commerce growth, though modest, hinted at life. Investors, ever the romantics, fell in love with hints.

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Analysts Dance in Circles

Other analysts, those modern-day prophets, adjusted their numbers like tailors hemming a coat for a growing child. Arete’s Zixiao Yang upgraded Alibaba to “buy,” setting a target of $152. The dance continues. Buy, sell, hold-words that sound like wisdom but often mean nothing. So it goes.

Alibaba’s story is a palindrome: hopeful at the start, uncertain in the middle, and whoever reads the end first wins. For now, the cloud unit is the hero. Let’s hope it’s not another Icarus. Or, worse, a weather balloon. 🚀

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2025-09-10 01:22