Alibaba stock soared, still cheap enough to buy, Barron’s says

After a yearslong malaise, Alibaba (BABA) Group Holding stock has roared back to life, thanks to China’s recent stimulus plans-and it isn’t too late to buy in, Teresa Rivas writes in this week’s edition of Barron’s. Buying now, after Alibaba’s stock has gained 25% to $98.70 over the past three months, feels like arriving late to a very brief happy hour and getting stuck with the bill. Yet China’s economic stimulus plan is also a sign that the government is determined to spur an economic recovery regardless of the cost. Even if this round doesn’t work, Beijing’s willingness to intervene should at least put a floor under consumers. Likewise, policymakers may be less likely to interfere with tech companies, which have been the main economic drivers elsewhere in the world. Alibaba, as a dominant e-commerce and cloud provider in China, should benefit both ways. With a flush balance sheet and a stock trading at 10.7 times forward earnings, it still looks like a bargain, the publication adss.