Yahoo Stock Hits 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade on Asian Assets

Yahoo's stock on Monday hit a 52-week high after Barclays Capital analyst Anthony DiClemente upgraded his rating from "equal weight" to "overweight," the equivalent of other analysts' "buy" rating.

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He also raised his price target on the stock by $4 to $26, arguing that "the value of Yahoo's minority stakes in [Chinese e-commerce giant] Alibaba Group and Yahoo Japan are not fully reflected in Yahoo shares." He also cited "further upside as traction for Yahoo's investments in the Asian assets accelerates and the subsequent monetization and capital returns drives value creation for Yahoo."

STORY: Yahoo Beats Financial Expectations Even as Profit Dips

Google shares also gained a bit and hit a new 52-week high of $814.47 in early Monday trading, giving the Internet giant a $267.8 billion market value. But Apple's stock set a 52-week low of $425.30 in early trading. As of 10:15 a.m. ET, it was down 1.1 percent at $425.68, giving the company a market capitalization of $400 billion.

DiClemente on Monday also modestly raised his target multiple on Yahoo's core holdings. "We are positive on the company's strategic direction under Marissa Mayer and believe the commitment to cost-cutting under CFO Ken Goldman, as well as capital returns both merit modest multiple expansion," he explained.

Yahoo's stock in early Monday trading went as high as $22.62 and at 10:15 a.m. ET was up 1.9 percent at $22.35. That gave the company a market value of $26.5 billion.

DiClemente emphasized that his stock upgrade was "not predicated on a near-term operational turnaround at Yahoo." He left his revenue estimates for the company unchanged.

Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com
Twitter: @georgszalai