Alibaba Ready For $8 Billion Day, Says SunTrust

SunTrust issued an update on Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA Monday and noted that China's "Singles Day" should be bigger than the U.S. "Cyber Week."

According to analyst Robert S. Peck, China will celebrate "Singles Day" this Tuesday, November 11, which is the biggest online shopping day in China and the world.

"This year will also be different as it is the first year Alibaba’s marketers are bringing the celebration abroad through TMall Global and Aliexpress. Consumers and vendors in global markets will participate in concert with Alibaba’s website and logistics partners.

"IDC estimates that Singles Day could generate >$8B of sales – or to put that in perspective, more than all of Cyber Week (the week starting Black Friday) in the US."

Related Link: Here's A Quick Primer On Singles Day - The Cultural Phenomenon Sweeping Across China

According to Peck, if Alibaba reaches more than "$8.5B of GMV on Singles Day it would represent ~45 percent GMV growth, down only slightly from 49 percent last quarter. This would be remarkable given the difficult comparison to last year’s growth (~80 percent) on Singles Day.”

Singles Day began in 1999 as a way to celebrate being single and then expanded to those looking for their soul mate, according to the report.

SunTrust maintained a Buy rating and $120 price target on the stock.

Alibaba traded at $117.18 in the pre-market session, up 2.25 percent. Shares are up 16 percent over the last five trading sessions and up 22 percent since its September 22 IPO.