Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. BABA, +9.27% shot up 9.1% in afternoon trading Monday, putting them on track for the biggest one-day gain in four years, as investors expressed relief following the $2.8 billion fine assessed by China’s antitrust regulator. The China-based ecommerce giant’s Chief Executive Daniel Yong Zhang said in a conference call after the fine, “we don’t expect material negative impact” following changes to comply with the regulator’s orders. The company said it will not appeal the decision. “Positively, Alibaba does not expect further investigations on this matter, and we believe the removal of this overhang could be a positive for the shares,” Raymond James analyst Aaron Kessler wrote in a note to clients. Kessler trimmed his stock price target to $330 from $350, to reflect increased investments in grocery and local deals categories as China-based ecommerce giant looks to expand in lower-tier cities, but reiterated his strong buy rating. Truist’s Youssef Squali reiterated his buy rating and $330 stock price target, saying the long-term prospects of Alibaba remain “highly attractive.” The stock, which is headed for the biggest one-day gain since it rose 13.3% on June 8, 2017, has advanced 8.0% over the past three months, while the iShares MSCI China ETF MCHI, +0.15% has slipped 3.9% and the S&P 500 SPX, -0.02% has gained 8.4%.
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