UBS: Maintain "buy" rating for Alibaba-W (09988) with a target price of HK$172.

UBS released a research report stating that it predicts that Alibaba Group's revenue for the end of the financial year's fourth quarter will increase by 5% year-on-year to 232 billion yuan. The gross merchandise volume of Taobao Group is expected to increase by 4.6% year-on-year, benefiting from trade-in subsidies and the strategic shift towards gross merchandise volume growth. Customer management revenue is expected to increase by 8%, benefiting from a structural increase in commission rates brought about by a 0.6% software service fee and site-wide promotional tools. Taobao's EBITA is expected to increase by 2% year-on-year. The bank maintains a "buy" rating on Alibaba, with an H-share target price of 172 Hong Kong dollars. The bank expects Alibaba Cloud to see a 17% year-on-year increase in quarterly revenue, accelerating by 4 percentage points from the previous quarter due to external demand growth following the introduction of the Deep Quest model. The EBITA profit margin is expected to remain at 10%, with operational optimization offsetting depreciation growth. International e-commerce revenue is expected to increase by 27% year-on-year, with quarterly EBITA totaling 33 billion yuan, an increase of 37.5% year-on-year.