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Why Alibaba Stock Keeps Going Up

By Rich Smith – Jan 12, 2022 at 11:12AM

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Even pessimists are pretty optimistic about Alibaba's price.

What happened

It's Wednesday morning, and Alibaba Group Holding (BABA 0.44%) stock is still going up. As of 10 a.m. ET this morning, shares of the Chinese e-commerce giant are up 3.6%.

And that means we're now more than a week into an almost continuous winning streak since Charlie Munger started this rally -- a streak that has added 14% to Alibaba's market capitalization.

Red map of China with a rising green stock arrow superimposed.

Image source: Getty Images.

So what

Do you remember what I said about Alibaba yesterday? That "the more ... bankers keep joining the chorus on [Alibaba being undervalued,] the higher Alibaba stock is going to go"?

Well, this morning, the chorus singing Alibaba's praises got even bigger. Like Benchmark, and J.P. Morgan, and Citigroup before it, this morning investment banker Barclays Capital announced it has cut its price target on Alibaba.

But once again, the new price target set -- $247 in Barclays' case -- sits more than $100 above where Alibaba stock trades today ($137 a share).

Now what

Now what does this mean for Alibaba and its shareholders?

Over the course of roughly one week, four separate Wall Street analysts have unanimously declared that, while they don't think Alibaba is going as high as they once did, they're still convinced the stock is worth far more than the $137 a share that Alibaba currently costs.

Like JP and Citi and Benchmark, Barclays Capital agrees that "weaker China consumption data" depresses Alibaba's value below the $252 per share the bank used to think it was worth. Regardless, with Alibaba stock selling for a cheap 17.5 times earnings, and with the prospect of "fiscal stimulus in China" and "additional monetary easing" boosting both spending at Alibaba and investment in Alibaba stock in 2022, Barclays is forced to conclude that Alibaba is a bargain.

Barclays says you should buy that bargain -- and today, investors are taking that advice.

Citigroup is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Barclays. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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