Alibaba Group Holding Limited $BABA Stake Decreased by ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd

Key Points

• ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd cut its Alibaba stake by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 5,022 shares and ending with 38,517 shares valued at about $5.65 million.
• Despite that reduction, other institutional investors were active buyers, with several firms sharply increasing their Alibaba holdings; institutional ownership now stands at 13.47% of the company.
• Sentiment around Alibaba remains mostly upbeat as multiple analysts raised price targets and the company’s AI/cloud push is drawing attention, though recent earnings also showed profits under pressure from heavy spending.

ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Free Report) by 11.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,517 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 5,022 shares during the period. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd's holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $5,646,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 7,680.3% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 6,014,147 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $881,554,000 after acquiring an additional 5,936,847 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 9,075 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,329,000 after acquiring an additional 3,070 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 2,459.4% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 261,344 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $38,308,000 after acquiring an additional 251,133 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 12,415 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,820,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the period. Finally, Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 51.8% during the fourth quarter. Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd now owns 33,409 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $4,897,000 after acquiring an additional 11,400 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company's stock.

Alibaba Group News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple Wall Street firms raised price targets on Alibaba, including Nomura, Morgan Stanley, Mizuho, HSBC, and JPMorgan, signaling continued confidence in the stock’s upside as analysts focus on its cloud and AI growth. Nomura adjusts Alibaba Group price target to $207
• Positive Sentiment: Alibaba shares surged in Hong Kong as the company accelerated its pivot to AI, reinforcing the idea that investors are rewarding the shift toward higher-growth cloud and artificial intelligence businesses. Alibaba shares surge 7% in Hong Kong as firm accelerates pivot to AI
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlighted strong AI and cloud momentum, including triple-digit AI revenue growth and a 38% jump in cloud revenue, which supports the bull case that Alibaba’s heavy spending may eventually pay off. Alibaba Earnings: Cloud Acceleration Is A Bullish Catalyst
• Neutral Sentiment: The Trump-Xi summit ended with few concrete breakthroughs, but the absence of escalation is being viewed as a short-term plus for Chinese equities, including Alibaba. Trump-Xi Summit Ends With Few Breakthroughs
• Negative Sentiment: Alibaba’s latest earnings report showed profits under pressure as the company ramped up AI, cloud, and commerce spending, with some analysts warning that margins may stay strained in the near term. BABA Q4 Profit Falls on Heavy Tech Spending

Alibaba Group Stock Down 6.1%

Alibaba Group stock opened at $132.53 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $317.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.33. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a fifty-two week low of $103.71 and a fifty-two week high of $192.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $131.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $149.37.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The specialty retailer reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $35.30 billion during the quarter. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 4.76%. As a group, analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Alibaba Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 72.0%. Alibaba Group's payout ratio is presently 17.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Alibaba Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $186.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Alibaba Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $188.76.

Alibaba Group 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.

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