Cetera Investment Advisers Reduces Stake in Alibaba Group Holding Limited $BABA

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers reduced its Alibaba stake by 4.1% in the first quarter, selling 5,552 shares and retaining 129,802 shares valued at approximately $16.3 million.
• Other institutional investors made sizable moves into Alibaba, including Northwestern Mutual’s substantial position increase and new stakes from Norges Bank, Altshuler Shaham, Third Point, and Bbfit Investments.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $186.90, although insiders sold roughly $70.8 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Cetera Investment Advisers cut its stake in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Free Report) by 4.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 129,802 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 5,552 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $16,285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in 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 worth $881,554,000 after purchasing an additional 5,936,847 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $594,477,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $160,410,000. Third Point LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $120,928,000. Finally, Bbfit Investments PTE Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $106,828,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on BABA shares. Nomura decreased their price objective on Alibaba Group from $207.00 to $178.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Freedom Capital raised Alibaba Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on Alibaba Group from $186.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen raised Alibaba Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Two 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 data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $186.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alibaba Group

In related news, President J. Michael Evans sold 720,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.95, for a total transaction of $68,364,000.00. Following the transaction, the president owned 28,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,658,600. This represents a 96.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Siying Yu sold 6,772 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the general counsel owned 607,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,347,531.40. This trade represents a 1.10% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 920,303 shares of company stock valued at $70,796,370. Corporate insiders own 12.50% of the company's stock.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

Alibaba Group stock opened at $115.37 on Wednesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $113.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $133.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 1 year low of $91.99 and a 1 year high of $192.67. The company has a market capitalization of $276.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.51.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The specialty retailer reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 4.76%. The firm had revenue of $35.30 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 6.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Alibaba Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were given a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 93.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 11th. Alibaba Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.91%.

Alibaba Group News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Alibaba’s expanding AI and semiconductor investment portfolio—including exposure to companies such as CXMT and Zhipu—could strengthen its position in China’s technology ecosystem and create additional long-term growth opportunities. From CXMT to Zhipu: How Alibaba’s investment pays off with a growing AI and chip portfolio
• Positive Sentiment: Alibaba Cloud remains a key bullish argument. Its Cloud Intelligence Group has posted strong long-term growth, while proprietary Qwen AI models, competitive pricing, improving margins and supportive Chinese AI policies could drive further cloud adoption. Planned Chinese data-center investment of roughly $295 billion over five years may also benefit Alibaba’s cloud and chip businesses. Alibaba: China AI Policies And Robust Competitiveness To Support Cloud Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent attention from investors and elevated searches for BABA may increase visibility, but the coverage provides limited new fundamental information. Investors Heavily Search Alibaba Group Holding Limited
• Negative Sentiment: A comparison with Oracle presents Oracle’s faster cloud growth, large AI backlog and partnerships as a stronger investment case, highlighting concerns that Alibaba’s recent share-price weakness and slower global cloud-market momentum may limit near-term enthusiasm. Oracle vs. Alibaba: Which Cloud & AI Giant Should You Buy Right Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP announced an investigation into potential claims on behalf of Alibaba investors. The notice does not establish wrongdoing, but it introduces a legal-risk overhang and could pressure sentiment if additional allegations emerge. Pomerantz Investor Alert
• Negative Sentiment: Potential U.S.-China semiconductor export restrictions involving chips based on Alibaba designs could disrupt supply-chain relationships and constrain AI-chip development, although the measures remain under consideration. Beijing Just Aimed at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company

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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