Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) General Counsel Sells 6,764 Shares of Company Stock

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) General Counsel Siying Yu sold 6,764 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.58, for a total value of $91,855.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 613,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,337,644.70. The trade was a 1.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

NYSE:BABA opened at $108.89 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $270.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $117.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $121.06. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 1-year low of $91.99 and a 1-year high of $192.67.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 14th. The specialty retailer reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by ($0.68). The firm had revenue of $39.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.52 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 4.79% and a net margin of 7.00%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $14.75 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 5.8 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BABA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Alibaba Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Alibaba Group from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Monday, September 7th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Nomura dropped their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $207.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.05.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,505,165 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $953,527,000 after acquiring an additional 466,847 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter valued at $594,477,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 4.1% during the first quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,206,634 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $276,844,000 after acquiring an additional 86,613 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter valued at $160,410,000. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY increased its position in Alibaba Group by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,071,647 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $157,082,000 after purchasing an additional 67,948 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: China may approve Alibaba’s purchases of Nvidia’s RTX PRO 5500 chips, which would expand access to advanced processors for Alibaba Cloud and its internal AI projects. Improved chip availability could support the company’s ability to compete in China’s AI-cloud market. Alibaba nears approval for RTX PRO 5500 chip purchases
• Positive Sentiment: Alibaba announced a technology and cloud partnership with the Brooklyn Nets, providing a new showcase for its cloud, data and sports-technology offerings. The deal is strategically positive but is unlikely to materially change near-term financial results. Brooklyn Nets technology and cloud partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street’s average brokerage recommendation remains bullish, offering some support for the view that BABA may be undervalued after its decline. However, analyst ratings can be optimistic and are not a substitute for improving earnings or cash flow. Wall Street views on Alibaba
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO Hong Xu, General Counsel Siying Yu and insider Fang Jiang sold shares to cover tax withholding tied to vested equity awards. The transactions reduce insider holdings, including a larger 20.23% reduction for Xu, but their stated tax-related purpose makes them a weaker bearish signal than discretionary sales. Alibaba insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms publicized an October 5 lead-plaintiff deadline for a securities-fraud class action alleging Alibaba failed to disclose issues related to its Chinese military-company designation and AI “distillation” activities. The notices add headline and potential legal-risk pressure, although they largely repeat the same lawsuit information rather than announce a new ruling or financial liability. Alibaba securities class action deadline
• Negative Sentiment: Alibaba’s planned 5-trillion-to-10-trillion-parameter AI model and new Zhenwu V900 chip reinforce its long-term ambitions, but investors are concerned about the substantial data-center, chip and power spending required before customers validate the economics. The company’s latest quarterly EPS also missed consensus, increasing scrutiny of profitability.

Alibaba Group Company Profile

Alibaba Group Holding Limited is a technology and commerce company founded in 1999 and headquartered in Hangzhou, China. It operates a broad digital ecosystem connecting consumers, merchants, brands and businesses through online marketplaces and related services.

The company’s China commerce businesses include Taobao and Tmall, while its international commerce operations include Alibaba.com, AliExpress, Lazada and Trendyol. Alibaba also provides logistics services through Cainiao, consumer services through platforms such as Ele.me and Freshippo, and digital media and entertainment offerings.

Alibaba Cloud provides cloud computing, data management, artificial intelligence and other technology services to businesses and organizations.