While investors have largely reacted negatively to the news, which was announced alongside quarterly earnings Thursday, Wall Street's analysts are split.
Although the Wall Street bank reiterated its overweight – or buy – rating on the stock, it lowered its price target to $110 from $125.
"Cancellation of the Cloud spin-off came out of the blue, and puts paid to the last big 'initiative' supposed to improve shareholder returns.
JPMorgan JPMorgan analysts noted the Alibaba's cloud business missing growth estimates and a modest decline at its core business will worry investors.
While applauding the newly announced dividend, JPMorgan said it won't be enough to offset investor disappointment over the aborted cloud spinoff plan.
Persons:
Wall, Morgan Stanley, Alibaba, BABA, Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley, Morgan Stanley's, Gary Yu, Bernstein Bernstein, Bernstein, Jiong Shao
Organizations:
Barclays, Alibaba's, JPMorgan JPMorgan, JPMorgan