Centaurus Financial Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Alibaba Group Holding Limited $BABA

Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 115.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,599 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,688 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $1,330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hoey Investments Inc. grew its position in Alibaba Group by 95.2% in the first quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 205 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the third quarter worth $37,000. Palladiem LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 15,000.0% in the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 302 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Fan (Fj) Jiang sold 13,579 shares of Alibaba Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.10, for a total value of $164,305.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 556,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,735,065.70. This trade represents a 2.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 Alibaba Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.10, for a total value of $81,941.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 607,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,347,531.40. This trade represents a 1.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 920,303 shares of company stock worth $70,796,370. Company insiders own 12.50% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 5.3%

Shares of NYSE:BABA opened at $122.44 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $293.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $112.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $132.85. 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 Holding Limited has a 12-month low of $91.99 and a 12-month high of $192.67.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The specialty retailer reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $35.30 billion for the quarter. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 4.76%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 6.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alibaba Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BABA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho lifted 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, May 14th. HSBC set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on Alibaba Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $209.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research raised Alibaba Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on Alibaba Group from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Two 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.90.

More Alibaba Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Moonshot reportedly built its Kimi AI models with access to a large Nvidia-chip cluster leased through Alibaba. The arrangement could support Alibaba Cloud revenue growth, improve data-center utilization and reinforce the company’s position as a leading Chinese AI-computing provider. Moonshot has Nvidia chip cluster from Alibaba computing deal
• Positive Sentiment: The Moonshot news boosted optimism that Alibaba’s AI spending can translate into commercial cloud demand, while broader strength in technology stocks provided a favorable backdrop for BABA. Alibaba’s AI Bet Is Powering a Rival
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank raised its Alibaba EPS forecasts to $5.84 for fiscal 2027 and $8.46 for fiscal 2028, up from previous estimates. The revisions signal improving expectations for Alibaba’s longer-term earnings power. Erste Group Bank raises Alibaba earnings estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Alibaba’s AI customer is also an AI competitor, creating a trade-off: cloud usage generates revenue, but Moonshot and other customers could develop competing services that challenge Alibaba’s own AI offerings. Alibaba’s Biggest AI Customer Is Also Its Rival
• Negative Sentiment: Rosen Law Firm and Pomerantz separately announced investigations into potential securities claims involving allegedly misleading company information. These announcements do not establish wrongdoing, but they add legal and reputational risk for shareholders. Rosen Law Firm Alibaba investigation

About Alibaba Group

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.