Analyst Upgrades: Alibaba Group, Fitbit , Microsoft

Analysts are weighing in on e-tailer Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA), fitness device maker Fitbit Inc (NYSE:FIT), and blue chip Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on BABA, FIT, and MSFT.

• Goldman Sachs weighed in on a number of China-based stocks over the weekend, and for BABA, this meant a price-target hike to $102. Historically speaking, the shares haven't muscled north of that level since late January, and Friday's close at $81.38 is 20% below the new target. This glass-half-full approach is more of the same for the brokerage crowd, which has handed out 16 "buy" or better ratings on Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, versus three "holds" and not a single "sell." Looking ahead, the company will present at the Credit Suisse Technology, Media & Telecom Conference this Wednesday morning.

• Barclays boosted its opinion on FIT to "overweight" from "equal weight," saying the wearables market looks like it's booming this holiday season -- a category "dominated" by the company. What's more, Barclays said "there are meaningful catalysts to the story over the next year," including product launches and the Consumer Electronics Show. Apparently, the brokerage firm is undeterred by Fitbit Inc's more than 31% month-to-date loss and recent rash of record lows, sparked by the poorly received announcement of a secondary offering. Meanwhile, short sellers are counting on the stock -- which ended at $27.84 on Friday -- to slide, with 38.2% of its float sold short. Ahead of the bell, though, the shares are up 4.2%. On the fundamental front, FIT will make an appearance at the Piper Jaffray Healthcare Conference this Wednesday.

• MSFT has added 1.2% pre-market, after Raymond James upped its opinion to "strong buy" from "market perform." The bullish view is well-deserved, consider the equity has advanced over 16% year-to-date to trade at $53.93 -- not far from its early November 15-year high of $54.98. Call buyers are likely hoping for even higher highs, based on data from the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). Microsoft Corporation's 50-day call/put volume ratio across those exchanges is 2.91, just 2 percentage points from a 12-month peak. It's possible a boost could come after MSFT's annual shareholders meeting, scheduled for this Wednesday.