Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA) is scheduled to report fiscal second quarter financial results before markets open on Wednesday. Around this time two years ago, this company was the hottest thing on the planet and getting ready to come public. Since that time Alibaba has faced some tough times but 2016 appears to be Alibaba’s year with earnings just around the corner.
The consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters are calling for $0.69 in earnings per share (EPS) and $5.03 billion in revenue. The same period from last year had $3.63 in EPS and $22.17 billion in revenue.
Goldman Sachs analyst Piyush Mubayi already had a Buy rating on Alibaba, but now it is named as the top Chinese internet stock pick. The firm raised its price target to $130 from $120, calling Alibaba a compelling valuation versus strong growth fundamentals. If Goldman Sachs is proven right, then Alibaba has almost 25% upside from the most recent closing price of $101.69.
As for the reasons, several issues were cited in the call. Top-line growth was being driven by e-commerce, cloud and media. The cloud is expected to be profitable in the next two years. Ant Financial, Cainiao and Alipay were all named in the e-commerce and payments arena.
Prior to the release of the earnings report, a few other analysts weighed in on Alibaba:
- Citigroup has a Buy rating with a $133 price target.
- Needham has a Buy rating and a $125 price target.
- Nomura has a Buy rating and a $129 price target.
- SunTrust Banks has a Buy rating and a $125 price target.
- Deutsche Bank has a Buy rating and a $138 price target.
- Morgan Stanley reiterated an Overweight rating with a $132 price target.
- MKM reiterated a Buy rating and a $130 price target.
So far in 2016, Alibaba has outperformed the broad markets with the stock up about 23% in that time. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock is only up 18.6%.
Shares of Alibaba were last trading down about 1.6% at $100.04, with a consensus analyst price target of $116.33 and a 52-week trading range of $59.25 to $109.87.
The Average American Is Losing Their Savings Every Day (Sponsor)
If you’re like many Americans and keep your money ‘safe’ in a checking or savings account, think again. The average yield on a savings account is a paltry .4% today, and inflation is much higher. Checking accounts are even worse.
Every day you don’t move to a high-yield savings account that beats inflation, you lose more and more value.
But there is good news. To win qualified customers, some accounts are paying 9-10x this national average. That’s an incredible way to keep your money safe, and get paid at the same time. Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other one time cash bonuses, and is FDIC insured.
Click here to see how much more you could be earning on your savings today. It takes just a few minutes and your money could be working for you.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
