Alibaba Group Holding Limited $BABA Shares Bought by Centaurus Financial Inc.

Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 115.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,599 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing 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.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of BABA. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised 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 worth $881,554,000 after purchasing an additional 5,936,847 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $594,477,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter valued at $160,410,000. Third Point LLC acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter valued at $120,928,000. Finally, Bbfit Investments PTE Ltd. purchased a new position in Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth $106,828,000. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Alibaba Group

In other news, CFO Hong Xu sold 175,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.15, for a total transaction of $2,126,906.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 280,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,408,026.40. The trade was a 38.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Fan (Fj) Jiang sold 13,579 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 556,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,735,065.70. This represents a 2.38% 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. Insiders sold 920,303 shares of company stock worth $70,796,370 in the last quarter. 12.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BABA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. HSBC set a $170.00 price target on Alibaba Group in a 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 price objective on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Alibaba Group from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.90.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 5.3%

Shares of BABA opened at $122.44 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $112.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $132.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28. The company has a market capitalization 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. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a fifty-two week low of $91.99 and a fifty-two week high of $192.67.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its quarterly 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 4.76% and a net margin of 10.31%.The company had revenue of $35.30 billion for the quarter. As a group, analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 6.31 EPS for the current year.

Alibaba Group Announces Dividend

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

Alibaba Group News Roundup

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.