Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Down 1.8% – Here’s What Happened

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s share price dropped 1.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $133.82 and last traded at $134.7860. Approximately 15,882,060 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 37% from the average daily volume of 11,570,454 shares. The stock had previously closed at $137.30.

Key Alibaba Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street raised confidence in Alibaba’s AI/cloud turnaround, with HSBC, JPMorgan, Barclays, and Mizuho all lifting targets and reiterating bullish ratings. MarketScreener Latest Ratings
• Positive Sentiment: Alibaba’s cloud business grew 38% year over year, reinforcing the view that AI and cloud are becoming the company’s main growth engines. Alibaba quarterly revenue rises 3%, missing estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management said AI spending may rise above prior plans, suggesting Alibaba is leaning harder into its long-term AI strategy and may be building a stronger competitive position. AI Is Becoming Alibaba’s New Money Machine: Analyst
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are also watching China-related headlines, including reports that the U.S. approved Nvidia H200 sales to Chinese firms such as Alibaba, which could matter for the broader AI ecosystem but is not a direct earnings driver yet. Nvidia Stock Extends Winning Streak On China News
• Negative Sentiment: Alibaba’s quarterly results still showed pressure on profitability, with earnings missing estimates as heavy AI and commerce investment weighed on margins and core profit. Alibaba’s core profit plunges 84% even as AI and cloud growth accelerate
• Negative Sentiment: The revenue beat/ miss mix was not clean: overall revenue growth was modest, and investors remain concerned that AI spending could take time to translate into stronger near-term profits. Alibaba’s Quarterly Profitability Still Under Pressure

Analyst Ratings Changes

BABA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $225.00 to $212.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $186.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $209.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $189.00.

Alibaba Group Trading Down 3.2%

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $149.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market cap of $338.45 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.50.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The specialty retailer reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 4.82% and a net margin of 10.31%.The business had revenue of $35.30 billion during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 6.7 EPS for the current year.

Alibaba Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be given a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. This represents a yield of 72.0%. Alibaba Group’s payout ratio is 17.92%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,505,165 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $953,527,000 after purchasing an additional 466,847 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 7,680.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 6,014,147 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $881,554,000 after purchasing an additional 5,936,847 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,335,894 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $782,135,000 after purchasing an additional 42,297 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $594,477,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,987,539 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $533,964,000 after purchasing an additional 448,484 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

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.