Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. Buys 3,896 Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited $BABA

Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. grew its stake in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 28.1% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 17,777 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 3,896 shares during the quarter. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD.’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $1,706,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BABA. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 40.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,411 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 981 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $254,000. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 313.0% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 21,778 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,470,000 after acquiring an additional 16,505 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the second quarter worth approximately $1,613,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 51.9% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 70,060 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $7,946,000 after purchasing an additional 23,925 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Fang Jiang sold 4,898 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.09, for a total transaction of $59,216.82. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,559,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,214,487.99. The trade was a 0.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, General Counsel Siying Yu sold 6,772 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.10, for a total transaction of $81,941.20. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 607,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,347,531.40. The trade was a 1.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 920,303 shares of company stock valued at $70,796,370 over the last 90 days. 12.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alibaba Group News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alibaba Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alibaba’s latest Qwen AI model, Qwen3.8-Max, has reportedly generated strong investor enthusiasm, contributing to a significant recent rally in the stock. The model’s competitive performance and potential applications in cloud computing and other industries reinforce Alibaba’s position as a leading Chinese AI and cloud provider. Alibaba shares rally 7% after powerful Qwen3.8-Max AI launch
• Positive Sentiment: Alibaba plans to require large commercial users of its next open-source Qwen model to share some revenue generated from the technology. Although this could reduce the model’s “free” appeal for major users, it creates a potential recurring monetization stream and may help recover substantial AI development costs. Alibaba plans to charge big users of its next open-source AI model
• Neutral Sentiment: Alibaba will release unaudited results for the quarter ended June 30 before the U.S. market opens on August 20. Investors will look for evidence that cloud growth, AI spending and e-commerce trends are translating into stronger revenue and earnings. Alibaba Group will announce June quarter 2026 results
• Neutral Sentiment: Alibaba-backed AI startup Vast is seeking additional capital and considering an IPO. Any fundraising or valuation benefit could support Alibaba’s investment portfolio, but the report does not establish a direct near-term financial impact. Alibaba-backed AI startup Vast seeks fresh capital
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms are promoting or filing a securities class action covering investors who bought Alibaba securities between June 26, 2025 and June 24, 2026. The allegations include inadequate disclosure of possible U.S. restrictions tied to China’s military-company designation. The litigation creates legal, reputational and regulatory uncertainty, though the repeated announcements largely represent the same case rather than separate new lawsuits. BABA stockholder class-action notice

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on BABA shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. HSBC set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $186.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.90.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of Alibaba Group stock opened at $128.38 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $112.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $131.45. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 12-month low of $91.99 and a 12-month high of $192.67. The company has a market capitalization of $307.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The specialty retailer reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 4.76% and a net margin of 10.31%.The business had revenue of $35.30 billion during the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alibaba Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were issued a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 93.0%. Alibaba Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.91%.

Alibaba Group Company Profile

Alibaba Group Holding Limited is a Chinese multinational conglomerate founded in 1999 in Hangzhou, China, by Jack Ma and a group of co‑founders. The company built its business around internet-based commerce and related services and has grown into one of the largest e-commerce and technology companies in the world. Alibaba completed a high‑profile initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014.

The company operates a portfolio of online marketplaces and platforms serving different customer segments: Alibaba.com for global and domestic B2B trade, Taobao for consumer-to-consumer shopping, and Tmall for brand and retailer storefronts targeted at Chinese consumers.