William Blair Investment Management LLC Acquires Shares of 11,067 Alibaba Group Holding Limited $BABA

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management opened a new position in Alibaba Group, buying 11,067 shares valued at about $1.62 million in the fourth quarter.
• Several other hedge funds also increased or initiated stakes in Alibaba, and institutional investors now own 13.47% of the company’s shares.
• Recent headlines around Alibaba have been mixed but mostly constructive, including AI and cloud-related initiatives, a digital-economy partnership in Pakistan, and generally positive analyst sentiment, though Bloomberg also reported a potential risk from China restricting overseas travel for top AI talent.

William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 11,067 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,622,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. ARK Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the third quarter worth approximately $37,565,000. Great Hill Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the third quarter worth approximately $2,207,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 14.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 30,361 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $5,427,000 after buying an additional 3,929 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 54,235 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $7,950,000 after purchasing an additional 5,760 shares during the period. Finally, Thornburg Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 14.3% during the third quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 553,384 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $98,906,000 after purchasing an additional 69,232 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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 Cloud and Picsart launched an AI video competition, highlighting continued momentum in Alibaba’s AI ecosystem and cloud-focused innovation. Picsart and Alibaba Cloud Launch AI Video Competition
• Positive Sentiment: Alibaba signed a memorandum of understanding with Pakistan’s SME development body to promote the country’s digital economy, which could support future international growth and cloud/e-commerce partnerships. SMEDA, Alibaba Group sign MOU to promote Pakistan's digital economy
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple recent analyst and commentary pieces remain constructive on Alibaba, with Wall Street sentiment described as Buy-leaning and AI cloud demand expected to support enterprise growth in fiscal 2027. Wall Street Bulls Look Optimistic About Alibaba (BABA): Should You Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: An analyst report on Alibaba was published, but the headline provided does not indicate a clear upgrade, downgrade, or major new thesis shift. Analyst Report: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd
• Negative Sentiment: Bloomberg reported that China is restricting overseas travel for top AI talent at Alibaba and DeepSeek, a development that could raise concerns about talent mobility and AI execution risk. China restricts overseas travel for top AI talent at Alibaba and DeepSeek, Bloomberg News reports

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

BABA stock opened at $129.69 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $311.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.30, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.50. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 1 year low of $103.71 and a 1 year high of $192.67. The stock's fifty day moving average is $131.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.24.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The specialty retailer reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) 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. On average, research analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 6.67 EPS for the current year.

Alibaba Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 72.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. Alibaba Group's payout ratio is currently 16.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BABA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $225.00 to $212.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Nomura boosted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $200.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Alibaba Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $172.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $188.76.

About Alibaba Group

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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