Alibaba stock cannot avoid the tech swoon
Analysts are weighing in on e-commerce giants Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA), as well as electric vehicle stock Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on shares of AMZN, BABA, and TSLA.
AMZN Stock Retreats Amid Tech Swoon
Amazon stock is down 3% at $949.20, as tech stocks retreat, led by recently downgraded Apple shares. However, Piper Jaffray lifted its price target on AMZN stock to $1,200 from $1,050 -- in uncharted territory -- and reiterated an "overweight" rating. Even amid this weakness, AMZN shares are up 32% year-over-year, but short-term options traders are unusually put-skewed. This is according to Amazon's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.23, which ranks in the 97th annual percentile.
Analysts Join the Bullish Camp on BABA Stock
Alibaba stock touched a record high of $148.29 on Friday, a day after the company unveiled an encouraging revenue outlook. BABA shares are down 1.8% at $136.95, even after a trio of price-target hikes. Specifically, Benchmark lifted its target to $175, while Deutsche Bank hiked its target to $161, and Jefferies moved its target up to $160. Bullish analyst attention is nothing new for Alibaba, since every one of the 17 covering brokerage firms say to buy the shares. As of Friday's close, BABA had an average 12-month price target of $150.27.
Morgan Stanley Lifts Bear Case for TSLA Stock
A Morgan Stanley analyst lifted the bear case for Tesla stock to $175 from $50, while leaving the bull case at $511. "We have shifted our bear case valuation from one of asset liquidation/replacement to one of strategic value," read the note, which also said Tesla's stock could soar much higher amid a path to profitability over the next year. Today, TSLA shares are down 1.2% at $353, but still sport a year-to-date lead of 61% -- and are near Friday's record high of $376.87. Options traders have seemingly been bearish of late, with the June 355 and 360 puts seeing the largest increases in open interest during the past five days of all contracts yet to expire.