Alibaba price target raised to $137 from $132 at BofA

BofA analyst Joyce Ju raised the firm’s price target on Alibaba to $137 from $132 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares, citing changes in estimates, value of investments including its stake in Ant and currency exchange rates for its updated target. The firm, which expects Alibaba to report fiscal Q1 result in early-mid August, estimates total revenue of RMB 226B, up 10% year-over-year and 9% quarter-over-quarter. BofA added that it believes regulators’ RMB 7B fine on Ant and comment that the “crackdown on the internet platforms’ financial services almost completed and will turn the focus to normalized day-to-day supervision” indicate that the regulatory overhang is “largely resolved” and that Ant is “one step further towards its potential IPO,” but adds that the timing remains uncertain and such a process “could take years.”