Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Down 2.8% – Time to Sell?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s stock price fell 2.8% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $99.10 and last traded at $99.71. Approximately 14,986,999 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 26% from the average session volume of 11,865,796 shares. The stock had previously closed at $102.60.

Alibaba Group News Roundup

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

• Negative Sentiment: Alibaba sued the U.S. Department of Defense seeking removal from its “Chinese military company” blacklist, a designation the company says is unsupported and already hurting business relationships. The move highlights escalating geopolitical and regulatory risk that could limit contracting opportunities and weigh on investor sentiment. Alibaba sues US Department of Defense for branding it a ‘Chinese military company’
• Negative Sentiment: Anthropic accused Alibaba of illicitly extracting Claude AI model capabilities, calling it a major distillation attack. If the allegation gains traction, it could raise concerns about AI ethics, legal exposure, and Alibaba’s global partnerships. Anthropic says Alibaba illicitly extracted Claude AI model capabilities
• Neutral Sentiment: Alibaba’s Qwen team launched Qwen-AgentWorld, an AI model release aimed at improving agent performance across multiple environments. This supports the company’s AI strategy, but the near-term stock impact is likely limited compared with the legal headlines. Alibaba’s model never trained as an agent — and improved agent performance across seven benchmarks
• Neutral Sentiment: Alibaba also unveiled HappyHorse 1.1, a video-generation model, alongside a global AI filmmaking competition, reinforcing its push into generative AI. The announcement is strategically positive, but it is not yet a major driver for the shares. Alibaba unveils HappyHorse 1.1 video generation model, launches global AI filmmaking competition

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on Alibaba Group from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. HSBC lifted their price target on Alibaba Group from $172.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $209.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Alibaba Group from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $225.00 to $212.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Two investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Alibaba Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $188.76.

Alibaba Group Trading Down 2.8%

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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $127.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $141.27. The company has a market capitalization of $239.22 billion, a PE ratio of 16.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.47.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The specialty retailer reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $35.30 billion for the quarter. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 4.76% and a net margin of 10.31%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Alibaba Group Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,565,000. Great Hill Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,207,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Alibaba Group by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 54,235 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $7,950,000 after purchasing an additional 5,760 shares during the last quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Alibaba Group by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 553,384 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $98,906,000 after buying an additional 69,232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter worth about $21,266,000. 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.