Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Up 1.3% – Time to Buy?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shot up 1.3% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $124.96 and last traded at $123.74. 8,169,907 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 31% from the average session volume of 11,875,617 shares. The stock had previously closed at $122.16.

Key Alibaba Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Apple has reportedly trained a China-specific large language model with Alibaba’s assistance as it works to bring Apple Intelligence to Chinese users. The arrangement could strengthen Alibaba’s position as a strategic AI and cloud partner while expanding potential enterprise demand. Apple trains its own AI model for China market with Alibaba’s support
• Positive Sentiment: China’s richest province reportedly selected Alibaba to support its AI and semiconductor initiative, signaling possible government-backed demand for Alibaba Cloud, computing infrastructure and AI services. China’s richest province taps Alibaba to power its AI and chip push
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports said Trustar is nearing a roughly $1.5 billion deal for Alibaba’s gaming arm. A sale could generate cash and sharpen Alibaba’s focus, but it would also reduce exposure to a potentially valuable business. Trustar is said to near $1.5 billion deal for Alibaba gaming arm
• Neutral Sentiment: Alibaba’s tighter commercial restrictions on its Qwen3.8-Max open-weight AI model may help preserve monetization and platform control, although limits on use could reduce adoption compared with a more permissive open-source license. Alibaba’s Qwen 3.8 license is a platform play
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms reiterated notices about a securities-fraud class action covering investors who acquired Alibaba securities from June 26, 2025, through June 24, 2026. The complaint reportedly alleges Alibaba failed to disclose risks related to a possible Chinese military-company classification and U.S. sanctions exposure; investors seeking lead-plaintiff status face an October 5, 2026 deadline. Alibaba securities fraud lawsuit deadline alert
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst commentary has questioned whether Alibaba’s latest earnings can halt a price correction, while reports highlight rising AI costs and intensifying competition with Baidu and Kuaishou. These issues could pressure margins and increase scrutiny of Alibaba’s AI investment returns. Alibaba addresses mounting AI costs

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $209.00 price objective on the stock. Nomura decreased their target price on Alibaba Group from $207.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Alibaba Group from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Susquehanna increased their price target on Alibaba Group from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alibaba Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.90.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $296.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $112.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $129.94. 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 EPS for the quarter. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 4.76%. The company had revenue of $35.30 billion during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 6.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President J. Michael Evans sold 720,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.95, for a total value of $68,364,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 28,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,658,600. This represents a 96.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Fang Jiang sold 4,898 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.09, for a total value of $59,216.82. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 5,559,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,214,487.99. This trade represents a 0.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders have sold 920,303 shares of company stock worth $70,796,370 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 12.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BABA. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,505,165 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $953,527,000 after acquiring an additional 466,847 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 7,680.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 6,014,147 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $881,554,000 after acquiring an additional 5,936,847 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,335,894 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $782,135,000 after purchasing an additional 42,297 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $594,477,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 4.1% in the first quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,206,634 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $276,844,000 after purchasing an additional 86,613 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

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.