Shares of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba (BABA) have surged 73% year-to-date, fueled by strong progress in artificial intelligence, cloud, and online retail. In a new report, Jefferies analyst Thomas Chong reiterated a Buy rating on the stock and raised his price target to $178 from $165, implying 21% upside, citing stronger momentum in “cloud and e-commerce synergies.”
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It is worth noting that Chong ranks 395 out of more than 10,018 analysts tracked by TipRanks. He has a success rate of 58%, with an average return per rating of 13.50% over a one-year timeframe.
Jefferies Sees Multiple Growth Drivers for Alibaba
The 5-star analyst highlighted that Alibaba Cloud remains a major driver. According to industry research firm Omdia, Alibaba holds a 35.8% market share in AI cloud — larger than its next three competitors combined. He noted that AI-related revenue already contributes more than 20% of external cloud sales, growing at a triple-digit pace. Jefferies expects this rapid growth to continue, helping Alibaba strengthen its leadership in building full-stack AI infrastructure.
On the e-commerce side, Jefferies sees Alibaba benefiting from synergies between Quick Commerce (QC) and its traditional platforms, Taobao and Tmall. Daily active users on Taobao rose 20% year-over-year, while consumer engagement grew even faster. Though Chong expects Quick Commerce (QC) losses to peak at about RMB 30 billion in the September quarter, he believes the segment is gaining consumer attention and will add to customer management revenue (CMR) over time.
The analyst also pointed to progress at “Amap,” Alibaba’s mapping and lifestyle services platform. Its new “Street Stars” feature, covering 1.6 million businesses across 300 cities, uses AI to rank restaurants, hotels, and tourist spots. With 170 million daily active users, Amap could strengthen Alibaba’s position in local services by helping smaller merchants reach new customers.
What Is the Price Target for BABA Stock?
Analysts remain bullish about Alibaba’s stock trajectory. With 16 Buy ratings and one Hold rating, BABA stock commands a Strong Buy consensus rating on TipRanks. Also, the average Alibaba price target of $165.43 implies about 14.94% upside potential from current levels.
