Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Up 4.7% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Shares up 4.7%: Alibaba traded as high as $129.34 and last around $125.29 on Wednesday, with volume (~17.5M shares) about 43% above average, signalling elevated investor interest.
• Alibaba unveiled a major AI push — a new data center powered by its Zhenwu chips and a 10,000‑card computing cluster — developments that could lift cloud margins and long‑term growth if monetization follows.
• Analysts still rate Alibaba a consensus "Moderate Buy" (16 Buys, 6 Holds) with an average target of $187.89, but several firms cut their price targets and risks remain from slowing e‑commerce and margin pressure.

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) rose 4.7% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $129.34 and last traded at $125.2910. Approximately 17,519,451 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 43% from the average daily volume of 12,217,346 shares. The stock had previously closed at $119.72.

Key Stories Impacting Alibaba Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Alibaba and China Telecom launched a major AI data center powered by Alibaba’s self‑developed Zhenwu AI semiconductors — a tangible step into large‑scale AI training/inference infrastructure that supports new revenue streams for cloud and AI services. Alibaba launches data center with 10,000 of its own chips as China ramps up AI push
• Positive Sentiment: The company unveiled a 10,000‑card computing cluster — a headline milestone that signals scale and helps justify investor optimism about Alibaba’s ability to compete on generative AI workloads. As AI race with US intensifies, China’s Alibaba launches 10,000‑card computing cluster
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts note Alibaba is stepping up AI hardware and data center builds to catch up with global rivals — moves that could lift cloud margins and long‑term growth expectations if monetization follows. Alibaba Stock Rises. How It's Trying to Catch Up in the AI Race.
• Positive Sentiment: Alibaba is among major Chinese tech firms placing orders for domestic AI chips (including Huawei’s), underscoring Beijing’s push for self‑reliance and potentially shortening supply risks for China‑centric AI deployments. Alibaba Orders Huawei AI Chips As Valuation Gap Draws Investor Focus
• Neutral Sentiment: Market watchers note elevated investor interest and a consensus “Moderate Buy” from analysts — supportive background but not a guarantee of short‑term upside. Alibaba Group Holding Limited NYSE: BABA Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts
• Neutral Sentiment: Alibaba made its NYSE debut, a milestone for liquidity and investor access; important structurally but of unclear immediate impact on fundamentals. Alibaba makes its NYSE debut
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst pieces warn of slowing e‑commerce growth, weak customer metric recovery (CMR) and falling profits in Alibaba’s core retail business — a reminder that AI progress may take time to offset near‑term revenue headwinds. Will Alibaba Stock Recover Despite Slowing E-Commerce Market Momentum?
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary explains why BABA plunged nearly 13% last month, highlighting regulatory, margin and macro risks that could re‑assert pressure if growth disappoints. Why Alibaba Stock Plummeted by Almost 13% Last Month

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BABA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Alibaba Group from $225.00 to $212.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Alibaba Group from $174.00 to $164.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Erste Group Bank cut Alibaba Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Alibaba Group from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $140.00 price target on Alibaba Group in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $187.89.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 4.7%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $143.11 and a 200 day moving average of $156.26. The company has a market capitalization of $299.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.64, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.33.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The specialty retailer reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 9.12%.The company had revenue of $40.71 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,505,165 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $953,527,000 after buying an additional 466,847 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 7,680.3% in 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 buying an additional 5,936,847 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,335,894 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $782,135,000 after buying an additional 42,297 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter worth $594,477,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,987,539 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $533,964,000 after buying an additional 448,484 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company's stock.

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.

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