Fiduciary Alliance LLC Increases Stake in Alibaba Group Holding Limited $BABA

Key Points

• Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its Alibaba stake by 9.8% in the first quarter, buying 14,707 more shares and bringing its total to 164,355 shares worth about $21.9 million.
• Several analysts remain upbeat on Alibaba, with recent upgrades and higher price targets contributing to a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $188.76.
• Alibaba is facing fresh legal and geopolitical pressure, including accusations tied to AI model access and a lawsuit against the U.S. Defense Department over its “Chinese military company” designation.

Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Free Report) by 9.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 164,355 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 14,707 shares during the period. Alibaba Group makes up 1.4% of Fiduciary Alliance LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Fiduciary Alliance LLC's holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $21,905,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its holdings in Alibaba Group by 101.4% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 143 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Palladiem LLC acquired a new position in Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on BABA shares. Freedom Capital raised Alibaba Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. HSBC upped their price objective on Alibaba Group from $172.00 to $180.00 in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Nomura increased their price objective on Alibaba Group from $200.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Alibaba Group from $174.00 to $164.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $209.00 target price on the stock. 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 MarketBeat, Alibaba Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $188.76.

Key Headlines Impacting Alibaba Group

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

• Negative Sentiment: Anthropic accused Alibaba-linked operators of illicitly accessing its Claude AI models, calling it a major distillation attack. The allegation raises legal, regulatory, and reputational risk for Alibaba’s AI ambitions. Reuters article
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports said Anthropic has asked U.S. officials to intervene, framing the issue as Chinese companies attempting to copy AI models. That could increase the odds of government scrutiny and broader restrictions on Alibaba’s AI operations. PYMNTS article
• Negative Sentiment: Alibaba separately sued the U.S. Department of Defense to overturn its “Chinese military company” designation. While the company denies the label, the move highlights rising geopolitical and contract-related risks for investors. Yahoo Finance article
• Negative Sentiment: News that the Pentagon blacklisted Alibaba is likely adding to concern that U.S. government relationships and defense-related opportunities could be limited going forward. Yahoo Finance video
• Neutral Sentiment: Separately, Alibaba announced lower pricing for its Qwen AI models and its Qoder coding platform, a move that could help adoption and support its AI strategy, though it was overshadowed by the legal headlines. SCMP article
• Neutral Sentiment: Alibaba also unveiled a new video-generation model and launched a global AI filmmaking competition, signaling ongoing product development in AI, but this was not the main driver of trading today. TechNode article

Alibaba Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BABA opened at $99.71 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $239.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $127.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $140.87. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 12 month low of $99.10 and a 12 month high of $192.67.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 4.76% and a net margin of 10.31%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 6.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alibaba Group Announces Dividend

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

Alibaba Group Company 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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