Harbor Investment Advisory LLC Reduces Stock Position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited $BABA

Key Points

• Harbor Investment Advisory LLC sharply reduced its Alibaba stake by 98.1% in the first quarter, selling 66,049 shares and leaving it with 1,248 shares worth about $157,000.
• Several analysts remain constructive on Alibaba, with recent calls including upgrades and higher price targets; MarketBeat shows an overall rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target of $187.38.
• Insider selling added to a cautious tone, highlighted by President J. Michael Evans selling 720,000 shares, while the company also faces a major legal overhang after agreeing to pay $600 million to settle U.S. allegations over illegal pharmaceutical sales on its platforms.

Harbor Investment Advisory LLC cut its stake in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Free Report) by 98.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,248 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 66,049 shares during the quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC's holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $157,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 40.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,411 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 981 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the 1st quarter worth $254,000. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 313.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 21,778 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,470,000 after buying an additional 16,505 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the second quarter worth $1,613,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 51.9% in the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 70,060 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $7,946,000 after acquiring an additional 23,925 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BABA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays increased their target price on Alibaba Group from $186.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Freedom Capital upgraded Alibaba Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. DZ Bank lowered shares of Alibaba Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $135.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Nomura dropped their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $207.00 to $178.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $187.38.

Insider Activity

In other Alibaba Group news, insider Fang Jiang sold 4,898 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.09, for a total transaction of $59,216.82. Following the sale, the insider owned 5,559,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,214,487.99. This trade represents a 0.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, President J. Michael Evans sold 720,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the president owned 28,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,658,600. The trade was a 96.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 920,303 shares of company stock worth $70,796,370. 12.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

More Alibaba Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Alibaba’s AI efforts continue to generate strategic interest: its Elements Claw AI agent reportedly discovered four new superconductors, and Alibaba also joined Kuaishou’s Kling AI fundraise alongside Tencent, signaling ongoing investment in China’s AI ecosystem. Article: Alibaba, Tencent back Kuaishou's Kling AI in $2.8 billion fundraise
• Positive Sentiment: Alibaba’s move to streamline internal AI work tools and tighten security around employee use of third-party AI products may be seen as a governance and data-protection step, which could help reassure investors over time. Article: Alibaba Streamlines AI Work Tools as Competition Mounts
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage-coverage and “investor attention” headlines suggest BABA remains a heavily watched stock, but they do not add much new fundamental information by themselves. Article: Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA) is Attracting Investor Attention: Here is What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Alibaba’s Damai International announced a new artist label and global initiative, which is a modest business update rather than a stock-moving catalyst. Article: Alibaba's Damai International Introduces New Label, Launches Global Artist Initiative
• Negative Sentiment: Alibaba agreed to pay $600 million to settle U.S. allegations involving illegal pharmaceutical and chemical sales through its platforms, a major legal overhang that can weigh on sentiment and raise compliance concerns. Article: Alibaba to pay $600 million to U.S. for illegal pharmaceutical sales
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that President J. Michael Evans sold 720,000 shares add to a cautious tone, since large insider sales can be interpreted as reduced confidence, even if the sale may have been planned or tied to compensation. Article: Alibaba Group NYSE: BABA President Sells 720,000 Shares
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple headlines about Alibaba banning Anthropic’s Claude Code over alleged security or backdoor risks reinforce the idea of intensifying U.S.-China AI tensions and may keep investor sentiment cautious. Article: Alibaba to ban Claude Code in workplace over alleged backdoor risks, source says

Alibaba Group Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:BABA opened at $96.25 on Friday. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a one year low of $91.99 and a one year high of $192.67. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $121.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $137.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $230.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.28.

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. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 4.76% and a net margin of 10.31%.The company had revenue of $35.30 billion for the quarter. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 6.66 EPS 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 given a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 93.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. Alibaba Group's payout ratio is presently 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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