Alibaba Group shares climbed sharply on Thursday as investors weighed fresh analyst revisions against a strong session in the stock.
The move came after Morgan Stanley and Jefferies both lowered their price targets, while keeping positive ratings in place.
Alibaba Group Holding Limited closed at $154.47 on January 8, up $7.72, or 5.26%, according to pricing shown in the session data. Trading was volatile early, with the stock jumping quickly from below $150 before spending most of the day fluctuating in a narrow band around the mid-$154 area. Late in the session, shares held close to $154.51. Pre-market trading showed a pullback, with the stock quoted at $150.97, down $3.55, or 2.30%.
Morgan Stanley reduced its price target on Alibaba to $180 from $200, pointing to pressure building in the company’s core e-commerce operations. The bank said consumption trends in China remain weak and noted that conditions in the core commerce segment have started to deteriorate. That weakness, according to the analysts, could persist into the first half of fiscal year 2027. Despite the adjustment, Morgan Stanley maintained an “Overweight” rating, citing continued strength in Alibaba’s cloud business and its positioning as an AI enabler.
Jefferies also trimmed its target, lowering it to $225 from $231. The firm reaffirmed Alibaba as a “top pick” for 2026, highlighting artificial intelligence and cloud computing as key areas of opportunity. Jefferies added that it expects continued solid progress in quick commerce during the December quarter, even as broader challenges remain.
Both firms pointed to intense competition across China’s e-commerce landscape and the heavy investment required for AI and cloud infrastructure as factors weighing on near-term profitability. Even so, neither firm changed its positive stance. Morgan Stanley and Jefferies both kept Buy-equivalent ratings, signaling confidence in Alibaba’s longer-term positioning despite near-term pressure on parts of the business.
