Alibaba Group Holding Limited $BABA Stock: RWC Asset Advisors US LLC Grows Position

Key Points

• RWC Asset Advisors increased its Alibaba position by 47.3% in the third quarter to 278,988 shares worth approximately $30 million, making BABA its fifth-largest holding. Institutional investors collectively own 13.47% of Alibaba.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.89, despite Alibaba’s latest quarterly EPS missing estimates. Revenue rose 8.6% year over year to $39.64 billion.
• Alibaba faces significant headwinds, including Chinese regulatory scrutiny, broader weakness in Chinese technology stocks and costly competition in cloud and AI. Shares recently traded at $99.62, well below their 52-week high of $182.50.

RWC Asset Advisors US LLC lifted its position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Free Report) by 47.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 278,988 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 89,573 shares during the period. Alibaba Group accounts for 8.0% of RWC Asset Advisors US LLC's holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. RWC Asset Advisors US LLC's holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $30,002,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BABA. Hoey Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 95.2% in the 1st quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 205 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. GK Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 15,000.0% during the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 302 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the first quarter worth $56,000. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Alibaba Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Higher earnings forecasts: Erste Group Bank raised its FY2027 EPS estimate to $5.92 from $5.82 and its FY2028 forecast to $8.45 from $8.42. The revisions suggest improving analyst confidence, although the increases were relatively small. Erste Group Bank earnings estimates
• Positive Sentiment: AI ecosystem participation: Alibaba contributed OpenSandbox to the Agentic AI Foundation, expanding its involvement in an open-source platform alongside projects from Anthropic, OpenAI and Hugging Face. The initiative supports Alibaba’s efforts to build credibility in AI infrastructure and cloud services. Agentic AI Foundation projects
• Neutral Sentiment: Cloud comparison highlights execution risks: A comparison with Oracle concluded that Oracle currently has a stronger cloud investment case because of its large backlog, self-funding AI contracts and higher guidance. Alibaba’s AI and cloud opportunity remains significant, but heavy investment requirements and competition could limit near-term benefits. Oracle versus Alibaba cloud comparison
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory pressure is the primary overhang: China’s market regulator summoned Alibaba and other e-commerce companies over product quality and consumer-protection standards. Investors are concerned that tighter oversight could increase compliance costs, disrupt merchants and weigh on Alibaba’s core commerce business. China regulatory scrutiny of Alibaba
• Negative Sentiment: Broader technology concerns add pressure: Alibaba’s shares have also been affected by a wider sell-off in Chinese technology stocks and renewed doubts about AI-related valuations. The result is continued investor caution despite Alibaba’s cloud and AI strategy.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on BABA shares. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $192.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $190.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $182.89.

Alibaba Group Trading Down 2.2%

NYSE BABA traded down $2.20 on Friday, reaching $99.62. 9,226,787 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,111,190. The business's fifty day moving average price is $112.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $118.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $247.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a fifty-two week low of $91.99 and a fifty-two week high of $182.50.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The specialty retailer reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $39.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $14.75 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 5.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph C. Tsai acquired 720,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $14.29 per share, for a total transaction of $10,288,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 114,979,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,643,052,310.72. This trade represents a 0.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Yongming Wu bought 350,000 shares of Alibaba Group stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $14.24 per share, for a total transaction of $4,984,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,364,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,429,312.32. This trade represents a 34.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 999,971 shares of company stock worth $13,563,304. Insiders own 12.50% of the company's stock.

About Alibaba Group

Alibaba Group Holding Limited is a technology and commerce company founded in 1999 and headquartered in Hangzhou, China. It operates a broad digital ecosystem that connects consumers, merchants, brands and businesses through online marketplaces, technology platforms and related services.

The company's China commerce businesses include Taobao, a consumer-focused marketplace, and Tmall, which enables brands and retailers to sell directly to consumers. Alibaba also operates 1688, a business-to-business wholesale marketplace.

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