Alibaba Group Holding Limited $BABA Shares Bought by RWC Asset Advisors US LLC

RWC Asset Advisors US LLC raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 47.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 278,988 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 89,573 shares during the period. Alibaba Group makes up 8.0% of RWC Asset Advisors US LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. RWC Asset Advisors US LLC’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $30,002,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BABA. Aureus Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Alibaba Group by 511.0% in the 1st quarter. Aureus Asset Management LLC now owns 9,361 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 7,829 shares during the last quarter. IPG Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Alibaba Group by 97.8% in the second quarter. IPG Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,019 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,647,000 after purchasing an additional 8,415 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 24.5% during the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 259,580 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $32,567,000 after purchasing an additional 51,000 shares in the last quarter. Turn8 Private Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 70.3% during the 1st quarter. Turn8 Private Wealth Inc. now owns 37,324 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,683,000 after acquiring an additional 15,404 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 54.2% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 83,627 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $10,492,000 after buying an additional 29,392 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alibaba Group News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Higher earnings forecasts: Erste Group Bank raised its FY2027 EPS estimate to $5.92 from $5.82 and its FY2028 forecast to $8.45 from $8.42. The revisions suggest improving analyst confidence, although the increases were relatively small. Erste Group Bank earnings estimates
• Positive Sentiment: AI ecosystem participation: Alibaba contributed OpenSandbox to the Agentic AI Foundation, expanding its involvement in an open-source platform alongside projects from Anthropic, OpenAI and Hugging Face. The initiative supports Alibaba’s efforts to build credibility in AI infrastructure and cloud services. Agentic AI Foundation projects
• Neutral Sentiment: Cloud comparison highlights execution risks: A comparison with Oracle concluded that Oracle currently has a stronger cloud investment case because of its large backlog, self-funding AI contracts and higher guidance. Alibaba’s AI and cloud opportunity remains significant, but heavy investment requirements and competition could limit near-term benefits. Oracle versus Alibaba cloud comparison
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory pressure is the primary overhang: China’s market regulator summoned Alibaba and other e-commerce companies over product quality and consumer-protection standards. Investors are concerned that tighter oversight could increase compliance costs, disrupt merchants and weigh on Alibaba’s core commerce business. China regulatory scrutiny of Alibaba
• Negative Sentiment: Broader technology concerns add pressure: Alibaba’s shares have also been affected by a wider sell-off in Chinese technology stocks and renewed doubts about AI-related valuations. The result is continued investor caution despite Alibaba’s cloud and AI strategy.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alibaba Group

In other news, CEO Yongming Wu bought 350,000 shares of Alibaba Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $14.24 per share, with a total value of $4,984,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 1,364,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,429,312.32. This trade represents a 34.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Siying Yu sold 6,764 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the general counsel directly owned 613,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,337,644.70. This trade represents a 1.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 999,971 shares of company stock valued at $13,563,304. 12.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on BABA shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Monday, September 7th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $190.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings raised Alibaba Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Alibaba Group from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.89.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 2.2%

NYSE:BABA traded down $2.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $99.62. 9,226,787 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,111,190. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $112.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $118.41. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a fifty-two week low of $91.99 and a fifty-two week high of $182.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market capitalization of $247.83 billion, a PE ratio of 24.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.47.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The specialty retailer reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by ($0.68). The company had revenue of $39.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.52 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 7.00% and a return on equity of 4.79%. Alibaba Group’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $14.75 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 5.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alibaba Group 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 that connects consumers, merchants, brands and businesses through online marketplaces, technology platforms and related services.

The company’s China commerce businesses include Taobao, a consumer-focused marketplace, and Tmall, which enables brands and retailers to sell directly to consumers. Alibaba also operates 1688, a business-to-business wholesale marketplace.