Robert W. Baird Lowers Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Price Target to $160.00

Key Points

• Robert W. Baird lowered Alibaba’s price target to $160 from $164 while maintaining an “outperform” rating, implying 22.84% upside from the current price.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: Alibaba has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $186.95, supported by Buy or Strong Buy ratings from 18 analysts.
• Alibaba’s cloud revenue rose 45% amid strong AI-related demand, while total revenue increased 9%; the company is also selling its Lingxi Games stake for more than $2 billion to focus capital on cloud and AI.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by Robert W. Baird from $164.00 to $160.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the specialty retailer's stock. Robert W. Baird's price objective indicates a potential upside of 22.84% from the company's current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Alibaba Group from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Alibaba Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, HSBC set a $170.00 price objective on Alibaba Group in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $186.95.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE:BABA opened at $130.25 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $312.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.49. 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 $113.78 and a 200 day moving average of $128.38. Alibaba Group has a 52 week low of $91.99 and a 52 week high of $192.67.

Insider Activity

In other Alibaba Group news, President J. Michael Evans sold 720,000 shares of the company'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 transaction, the president owned 28,000 shares in the company, 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 the SEC website. Also, CEO Fan (Fj) Jiang sold 13,579 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.10, for a total value of $164,305.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 556,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,735,065.70. The trade was a 2.38% decrease in their position. 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 920,303 shares of company stock worth $70,796,370. Company insiders own 12.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BABA. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Alibaba Group by 40.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,411 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 981 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $254,000. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in Alibaba Group by 313.0% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 21,778 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,470,000 after buying an additional 16,505 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 2nd quarter worth $1,613,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 23,925 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Alibaba Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Alibaba’s cloud revenue increased 45% to approximately 48.4 billion yuan, driven by demand for AI computing, model training and related services. Management said the company is well positioned to benefit from the broader AI boom. Alibaba cloud revenue rises 45% even as AI spending weighs on profit
• Positive Sentiment: Overall revenue rose 9% year over year to roughly $39.6 billion, supported by AI services, cloud demand and the “618” shopping festival. Quick-commerce orders and unit economics also reportedly improved, offering a potential future growth lever. Alibaba reports 9% rise in quarterly revenue
• Positive Sentiment: Alibaba’s decision to sell its Lingxi Games stake for reportedly more than $2 billion could provide capital for its AI strategy and sharpen its focus on cloud and AI businesses. Alibaba Cashes Out of Gaming to Double Down on AI

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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