Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Acquires Shares of 1,623,721 Alibaba Group Holding Limited $BABA

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership bought a new position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,623,721 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $290,208,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned about 0.07% of Alibaba Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BABA. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. NBT Bank N A NY increased its position in Alibaba Group by 231.5% in the third quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 179 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 65.0% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 330 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership lifted its position in Alibaba Group by 33.3% during the second quarter. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership now owns 400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 34.4% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 254 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Alibaba Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Alibaba’s product and monetization push — the company launched the Qwen 3.5 model and a multi-model coding subscription aimed at cloud and developer customers, signaling a clear shift toward AI infrastructure and higher‑value cloud revenue. This bolsters the long‑term growth narrative beyond e‑commerce. Alibaba’s AI Push With Qwen 3.5 Targets Cloud And Developer Growth
• Positive Sentiment: New pricing bundle — Alibaba bundled four AI models under a single plan (a bold pricing move) to simplify go‑to‑market and accelerate adoption of paid AI services, which could lift ARPU if cloud/AI uptake ramps. BABA Bundles 4 Models Under One Plan
• Positive Sentiment: Regulatory/legal tail‑risk eased — analysis argues the Supreme Court ruling on tariffs removes worst‑case sanction risk and supports a valuation floor for Chinese e‑commerce leaders like Alibaba; institutional support and an approaching earnings report are cited as potential near‑term catalysts. The Head Fake: Buying the Chinese Stocks Post-Ruling Dip
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation check after pullback — coverage assessing BABA after a recent share pullback notes the stock looks cheaper versus U.S. cloud peers but that near‑term sentiment remains fragile; this is informational rather than an immediate catalyst. Assessing Alibaba Group Holding (NYSE:BABA) Valuation After Recent Share Price Pullback
• Neutral Sentiment: Nvidia H200 export news — a small US license for some H200 AI accelerators to China was approved but with uncertainties; limited immediate deliveries mean hardware supply for China AI players remains constrained and timing of any benefit to cloud vendors is unclear. Nvidia’s China Window Remains Closed
• Negative Sentiment: Sector contagion from Baidu weakness — multiple reports show Baidu’s profit drop and a sharp market selloff as investors question whether Chinese Big Tech’s AI investments are converting to revenue. That skepticism is spilling over to Alibaba, pressuring multiples for all AI‑exposed Chinese names. Why Baidu Stock Is Falling Today
• Negative Sentiment: Broader AI monetization timing risk — commentary about Baidu and other peers highlights a risk that AI investments take longer to monetize than markets expect; that timing uncertainty is a direct reason investors are stepping back from BABA ahead of upcoming earnings. Baidu’s Swift $11 Billion Selloff Shows Struggle to Meet AI Hype

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on BABA shares. Arete Research raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Nomura raised their price objective on Alibaba Group from $193.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Alibaba Group from $218.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Alibaba Group from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $231.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.17.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of Alibaba Group stock opened at $148.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The stock has a market cap of $353.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $159.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $157.12. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 1 year low of $95.73 and a 1 year high of $192.67.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 25th. The specialty retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $34.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.80 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 10.51% and a net margin of 12.38%.Alibaba Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.15 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.