What Alibaba Analysts Are Saying Ahead Of Earnings

Shares of Chinese Internet giant Alibaba Goup Holding Ltd BABA are down more than 25 percent so far in 2015. With the company set to release its fiscal Q1 earnings report on Wednesday, traders are trying to figure out how to play the stock ahead of the news.

Consensus analyst expectations for Alibaba’s Q1 are earnings per share (EPS) of $0.59 on revenue of $3.361 billion. Here’s what three Wall Street firms have to say.

Nomura

Analyst Andrew Orchard is bullish on Alibaba following its recent investment in Suning Commerce. “We believe that by leveraging on Tmall’s traffic and Suning’s product resource, Alibaba could see its total market share within the home appliance vertical increase substantially,” Orchard explains.

Nomura has a Buy rating on Alibaba and a $137 target for the stock.

T.H. Capital

Analyst Ethan Qin is not quite so positive on Alibaba ahead of earnings. While Qin believes that the Suning investment has placed Alibaba in “the leading position in a new phase of commerce” in China, the deal will have no impact on a likely week Q1 report.

T.H. Capital has a Hold rating on Alibaba and is calling for EPS of $0.56 on revenue of $3.357 billion, slightly below consensus.

MKM Partners

Analyst Rob Sanderson believes that Alibaba’s recent share weakness has provided an excellent buying opportunity for long-term investors. “We remain bullish on the stock and see significant upside as the mobile transition turns from headwind to tailwind,” he writes.

Expectations for the quarter are relatively low, however, and MKM is calling for EPS of $0.56 on revenue of $3.36 billion.

MKM has a Buy rating on Alibaba and a $115 target for the stock.