Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. ran up 2.3% in morning trade Monday, on track for a record close, after Oppenheimer raised its price target on the back of “another strong quarter.” Last Thursday, the stock had hit an all-time intraday high of $191.22 after earnings and profit beat expectations, but the stock turned lower to close 0.7% below its Nov. 1 record close of $186.08, amid margin concerns. Oppenheimer analyst Jason Helfstein raised his stock price target to $220 from $200, as Alibaba’s results have made him more bullish on valuations for the company’s AliCloud and Ant Financial businesses, which offsets any concerns over lower retail margins. He reiterated the outperform rating he’s had on the stock since he started covering it three years ago. “Overall, we believe [Alibaba] is uniquely positioned to benefit from the rise of Chinese middle-class consumption,” Helfstein wrote in a note to clients. The stock has more than doubled year to date, while U.S.-based rival Amazon.com Inc. shares have rallied 50% and the S&P 500 has gained 16%.
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