Alibaba Shares Climb After Price Target Increase At Raymond James

Shares of Alibaba Holdings Group LTD. were climbing 2% in premarket trade Tuesday after the stock's price target was raised to $190 from $160 at Raymond James. The analysts increased their price target after increasing their fiscal year 2018 revenue and profit estimates, saying they have "increased confidence" in Alibaba's retail segment revenue growth, particularly as Taobao evolves. Alibaba recently held an analyst day and said it expects revenue growth of 45% to 49% in 2018. Overall, the analysts are bullish on the stock, as Alibaba is showing strong revenue growth and margins, leadership in the cloud and they believe the company will narrow its losses in its investment areas such as digital media. Additionally, they say Alibaba's valuation is attractive at about 20 times its 2018 core commerce earnings per share. They reiterated a strong buy rating. Shares of Alibaba have gained 32% in the past three months, compared to the S&P 500's gain of 2.4%.