$Alibaba(BABA)$Citi Research analyst Alicia Yap was similarly encouraged.

"We view the solid revs beat and stronger-than-expected profit beat as a long-waited print, which we believe could help to improve overall market sentiment on BABA's fundamentals and its continued effort to navigate through multiple challenges over the past 1.5 years," she wrote in a note to clients.

For Yap, a highlight was Alibaba's mid-single-digit decline in paid gross merchandise volume at Taobao and Tmall, a performance she thought was "ahead of many buy-side and sell-side expectations" as "many were expecting [growth to be] down mid-teens" on a year-over-year basis.

"More importantly, we view the China commerce adj. EBITA...as positive and a 'needed surprise' to reassure investors on the company's cost optimization efforts and to help validate its profit generation ability," she continued. Yap rates the stock a buy with a $172 target price.