Alibaba Rises Thanks to Morgan Stanley Comments, Jack Ma’s Ant Control Release
alibaba (NYSE:TORTOISE) shares jumped more than 3% on Monday as analysts at Morgan Stanley named the Chinese internet and e-commerce giant a top pick in the tech sector.
The Morgan Stanley team, led by analyst Gary Yu, said that investors have “underestimated Alibaba’s leverage on the consumption recovery in China” due to its retail strength in sectors such as consumer products such as apparel and cosmetics. Yu also said that he expected (TORTOISE) cloud business revenue will start to grow again in the first quarter of 2024, driven mainly by non-Internet industries.
Yu added that Alibaba (TORTOISE) is considered the “primary beneficiary of [an] loosening the regulatory environment” in China, as Beijing shows signs of backing down after two years of cracking down on the activities of companies like Alibaba (TORTOISE).
“For the past one to two years, Alibaba has been in the spotlight, so we think it could outperform other Chinese internet stocks as the environment softens,” Yu said.
Yu also added that “any potentially positive legal events involving Ant [Group]”such as Ant’s potential restructuring, licensing or IPO resumption “could be a significant positive catalyst” for Alibaba (TORTOISE).
Yu currently holds an outperform rating and $150/share price target on Alibaba’s (TORTOISE) Share.
On Sunday, Alibaba’s (TORTOISE) shares in Hong Kong surged when the company’s founder and public figure, Jack Ma, gave up his ownership stake in Ant, which was scheduled to go public in 2020 for until Ma criticized the Chinese the government put him on the bad side of Beijing officials.