Alibaba said it was working with the government to unwind exclusivity agreements on its platforms.
Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
Alibaba Group Holding soared more than 9% Monday, despite a massive fine from the Chinese government. Baird argues investors are right not to worry.
Shares of Alibaba (ticker: BABA) edged down 0.7% to $242.35 in morning early trading Tuesday. The stock is up 4.8% year to date after rising more than 19% in the past 12 months.
Analyst Colin Sebastian reiterated an Outperform rating and $285 price target, writing in a note Tuesday that the ruling from Chinese regulators is “an affirmation of Alibaba’s core business model, and we see few tangible threats to the company’s position as one of China’s strongest Internet platform operators.”
Also, while regulators investigate the company’s recent acquisitions and investments as part of a broader industry probe, the analyst believes the ruling “should limit the risk of any meaningful constraints placed on Alibaba’s core commerce business.”
Sebastian doesn’t see much near-term impact from the government’s decision either. Alibaba said it was working with the government to unwind exclusivity agreements on its platforms, which he thinks will be minimal in terms of its total gross merchandise volumes, given that many sellers already operate across companies. That said, he does note it creates an opening for competition from other online marketplaces like Pinduoduo and Meitua.
Alibaba said it plans to record the full $2.8 billion fine in its March quarter, which given the company’s strong liquidity position doesn’t trouble Sebastian from a balance sheet standpoint either. Other analysts have noted that they are similarly unconcerned about the ruling’s impact.
Write to Teresa Rivas at [email protected]
