Erste Group Bank Boosts Earnings Estimates for Alibaba Group

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) – Research analysts at Erste Group Bank lifted their FY2027 EPS estimates for shares of Alibaba Group in a report released on Tuesday, September 8th. Erste Group Bank analyst S. Lingnau now anticipates that the specialty retailer will post earnings of $5.81 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $5.66. The consensus estimate for Alibaba Group’s current full-year earnings is $5.91 per share. Erste Group Bank also issued estimates for Alibaba Group’s FY2028 earnings at $8.41 EPS.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released 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). Alibaba Group had a net margin of 7.00% and a return on equity of 4.79%. The company had revenue of $39.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $14.75 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Alibaba Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Alibaba Group from $164.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Alibaba Group from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Nomura dropped their target price on Alibaba Group from $207.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.45.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

BABA opened at $109.24 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $117.84 and a 200-day moving average of $123.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $271.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.45, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.51. Alibaba Group has a 12-month low of $91.99 and a 12-month high of $192.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hoey Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 95.2% during the first quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 205 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Palladiem LLC acquired a new position in Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 15,000.0% during the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 302 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Key Financial Inc grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 316.9% during the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 271 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Siying Yu sold 6,772 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The shares were 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 represents a 1.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Fang Jiang sold 4,898 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.09, for a total value of $59,216.82. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,559,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,214,487.99. This represents a 0.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 920,303 shares of company stock valued at $70,796,370 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 12.50% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Alibaba Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Alibaba and DHL are reportedly partnering to bring AI capabilities to small- and medium-sized-business shipping. The initiative could strengthen Alibaba’s logistics and AI ecosystem and create additional commercial opportunities. DHL and Alibaba teams up to bring AI to SME shipping
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group issued a forecast for Alibaba’s fiscal 2027 earnings, potentially giving investors another sell-side estimate to weigh, although the available report does not provide the forecast figure or a material change in outlook. Erste Group Bank Predicts Alibaba Group FY2027 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms are soliciting investors to participate in a proposed securities-fraud class action covering purchases from June 26, 2025, through June 24, 2026. The lead-plaintiff deadline is October 5, 2026. The repeated announcements increase headline and legal-risk concerns, although they are attorney advertisements and the allegations have not been proven. Alibaba securities-fraud lawsuit deadline alert Alibaba class action announcement
• Negative Sentiment: The lawsuit notices cite sharp repricing in Alibaba ADSs during June 2026 following a U.S. Department of Defense designation and allegations that Alibaba used unauthorized AI “distillation.” If substantiated, the claims could increase regulatory, disclosure and reputational risks. Levi and Korsinsky Alibaba class action notice
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary comparing Alibaba and Amazon suggests billions in AI-infrastructure spending are creating rising costs. Investors may be concerned that capital intensity and delayed returns will pressure margins, cash flow and earnings. Alibaba and Amazon AI spending efficiency

About Alibaba Group

Alibaba Group Holding Limited is a global technology and commerce company founded in 1999 by Jack Ma and a group of co-founders. Headquartered in Hangzhou, China, the company operates a broad ecosystem of businesses serving consumers, merchants, brands and enterprises.

Its core businesses include online and mobile commerce platforms such as Taobao and Tmall in China, as well as international marketplaces including AliExpress and Lazada. Alibaba also provides wholesale commerce, cross-border retail, logistics through Cainiao, local consumer services, digital media and entertainment, and other consumer-focused technology services.

Alibaba Cloud provides cloud computing, data storage, artificial intelligence and related technology solutions to businesses and organizations.