Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Down 2.8% – Here’s Why

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shares were down 2.8% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $145.60 and last traded at $148.05. Approximately 10,204,322 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 18% from the average daily volume of 12,371,416 shares. The stock had previously closed at $152.28.

Alibaba Group News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Alibaba Cloud deployed tech for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics, highlighting enterprise demand and a sustainability/efficiency story that supports cloud revenue growth. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary notes Alibaba’s AI push (Qwen 3.5) and positioning as an Asian cloud/AI infrastructure player; that narrative is a key medium-term catalyst ahead of the March 5 fiscal Q3 earnings report. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/retail attention is rising — Benzinga and Zacks flagged Alibaba among oversold/monitored consumer/tech names, indicating potential buying interest if earnings or AI/cloud execution surprises to the upside. Read More. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alibaba introduced bundled pricing for multiple AI models under one plan — a competitive move that may boost adoption but could pressure near-term pricing/ARPU; impact depends on uptake and margin mix. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent analyst pieces reassessing valuation note an 11% one‑month slide and attractive longer‑term multiples (P/E ~20), making BABA a value/earnings play but keeping focus on near‑term execution. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Political/legal uncertainty is still driving volatility: the Supreme Court ruling removed the worst‑case IEEPA tariff risk but headlines about a possible “Plan B” (e.g., a 15% global tariff) have triggered a whipsaw — investors appear to be trimming positions into earnings, driving today’s weakness.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Alibaba Group from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Loop Capital set a $140.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $218.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $195.17.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $343.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $157.30.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 25th. The specialty retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.05). Alibaba Group had a net margin of 12.38% and a return on equity of 10.51%. The company had revenue of $34.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BABA. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 101.4% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 143 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new position in Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. NBT Bank N A NY increased its holdings in Alibaba Group by 231.5% in the 3rd quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 179 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.