Analysts Unload Purple Prose On Alibaba Group Holding Ltd

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's

underwriters rushed to write reports of breathless praise on the stock Wednesday after a 40-day "quiet period" expired. "A virtual-economy titan," said Morgan Stanley's Angela Moh. "They're surfing the Internet wave," Citi's Thomas Chong said in note. "There's an under-appreciated upside to e-commerce in China." Not only that; they've got "a powerful ecosystem," according to Suntrust's Robert, and the "potential for global expansion," in the view of Topeka's Victor Anthony. Perhaps needless to say, each of the four analysts launched coverage on Alibaba with the equivalent of Buy ratings. In the face of near saturation media coverage of Alibaba recently, it's hard to come by new insights. But Peck sees a kind of Trinity of "value propositions" hovering around the shares: "What Alibaba generates today; What Alibaba is becoming and; The optionality of what Alibaba can be long-term." Anthony offered speculation that Alibaba may move to spin off its Alipay unit, which earlier this month changed its name to Ant Financial. The business is part of a push by Alibaba to expand into banking and financial services. Alibaba slipped 0.8 percent in afternoon trading Wednesday.