Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. Purchases 3,896 Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited $BABA

Key Points

• Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers increased its Alibaba stake by 28.1% in the second quarter, purchasing 3,896 additional shares and ending the period with 17,777 shares valued at approximately $1.706 million.
• Alibaba is receiving investor interest from its Qwen AI developments, while analysts maintain a generally positive outlook: the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $186.90.
• Key risks and catalysts include Alibaba’s upcoming June-quarter results on August 20, potential monetization of its open-source AI models, and ongoing securities litigation related to alleged disclosure failures concerning U.S. restrictions.

Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Free Report) by 28.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,777 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 3,896 shares during the quarter. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD.'s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $1,706,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 54,235 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $7,950,000 after buying an additional 5,760 shares during the period. Aureus Asset Management LLC increased its position in Alibaba Group by 511.0% in the 1st quarter. Aureus Asset Management LLC now owns 9,361 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,174,000 after acquiring an additional 7,829 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its position in Alibaba Group by 24.5% in the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 259,580 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $32,567,000 after acquiring an additional 51,000 shares during the period. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 584,028 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $85,607,000 after acquiring an additional 30,644 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter valued at $21,266,000. 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: Alibaba’s latest Qwen AI model, Qwen3.8-Max, has reportedly generated strong investor enthusiasm, contributing to a significant recent rally in the stock. The model’s competitive performance and potential applications in cloud computing and other industries reinforce Alibaba’s position as a leading Chinese AI and cloud provider. Alibaba shares rally 7% after powerful Qwen3.8-Max AI launch
• Positive Sentiment: Alibaba plans to require large commercial users of its next open-source Qwen model to share some revenue generated from the technology. Although this could reduce the model’s “free” appeal for major users, it creates a potential recurring monetization stream and may help recover substantial AI development costs. Alibaba plans to charge big users of its next open-source AI model
• Neutral Sentiment: Alibaba will release unaudited results for the quarter ended June 30 before the U.S. market opens on August 20. Investors will look for evidence that cloud growth, AI spending and e-commerce trends are translating into stronger revenue and earnings. Alibaba Group will announce June quarter 2026 results
• Neutral Sentiment: Alibaba-backed AI startup Vast is seeking additional capital and considering an IPO. Any fundraising or valuation benefit could support Alibaba’s investment portfolio, but the report does not establish a direct near-term financial impact. Alibaba-backed AI startup Vast seeks fresh capital
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms are promoting or filing a securities class action covering investors who bought Alibaba securities between June 26, 2025 and June 24, 2026. The allegations include inadequate disclosure of possible U.S. restrictions tied to China’s military-company designation. The litigation creates legal, reputational and regulatory uncertainty, though the repeated announcements largely represent the same case rather than separate new lawsuits. BABA stockholder class-action notice

Analyst Ratings Changes

BABA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Nomura reduced their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $207.00 to $178.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Mizuho raised their target price on Alibaba Group from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Zacks Research raised Alibaba Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Alibaba Group from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on Alibaba Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $209.00 price objective for the company. Two research 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. According to MarketBeat, Alibaba Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $186.90.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 1.2%

BABA opened at $128.38 on Friday. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a twelve month low of $91.99 and a twelve month high of $192.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a fifty day moving average of $112.88 and a 200-day moving average of $131.45. The stock has a market cap of $307.73 billion, a PE ratio of 21.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.49.

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 (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $35.30 billion for the quarter. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 4.76%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 6.31 EPS for the current year.

Alibaba Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were paid a $1.05 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 93.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 11th. Alibaba Group's payout ratio is currently 16.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Hong Xu sold 175,054 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.15, for a total transaction of $2,126,906.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 280,496 shares in the company, valued at $3,408,026.40. This represents a 38.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Fan (Fj) Jiang sold 13,579 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.10, for a total value of $164,305.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 556,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,735,065.70. This represents a 2.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 920,303 shares of company stock worth $70,796,370 over the last three months. Insiders own 12.50% of the company's stock.

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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