Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Down 4.8% Following Analyst Downgrade

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s share price traded down 4.8% on Thursday after Nomura lowered their price target on the stock from $207.00 to $178.00. Nomura currently has a buy rating on the stock. Alibaba Group traded as low as $94.71 and last traded at $94.9720. Approximately 20,022,650 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 68% from the average daily volume of 11,936,665 shares. The stock had previously closed at $99.80.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on BABA. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Alibaba Group from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on Alibaba Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $209.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Alibaba Group from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. HSBC raised their price target on Alibaba Group from $172.00 to $180.00 in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Alibaba Group from $174.00 to $164.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.38.

Key Headlines Impacting Alibaba Group

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

• Negative Sentiment: Anthropic accused Alibaba of orchestrating a large-scale campaign to illicitly extract Claude AI capabilities, saying the effort involved thousands of fake accounts and may represent the largest known “distillation attack” on Anthropic to date. The claims raise reputational, legal, and regulatory risks for Alibaba’s cloud and AI ambitions. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports said Alibaba shares fell to a 16-month low in Hong Kong after the Anthropic accusations surfaced, reinforcing concerns that the controversy could weigh on global investor sentiment toward the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Nomura lowered its price target on Alibaba to $178 from $207, while keeping a buy rating. The cut suggests more caution on the near-term outlook, even though the new target still implies meaningful upside from recent trading levels. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Alibaba also sued the U.S. Defense Department to overturn its “Chinese military company” designation, adding another layer of geopolitical and regulatory uncertainty that could affect business partnerships and contract opportunities. Article Title

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BABA. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Hoey Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 95.2% in the 1st quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 205 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $227.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.59, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $127.23 and its 200-day moving average is $140.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The specialty retailer reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter. The company 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, analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 6.69 EPS for the current year.

Alibaba Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. This represents a yield of 93.0%. Alibaba Group’s payout ratio is currently 16.91%.

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.