Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Raised to Hold at Zacks Research

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on BABA. Argus upgraded Alibaba Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Alibaba Group from $174.00 to $164.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Alibaba Group from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $188.76.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

BABA stock opened at $127.49 on Tuesday. Alibaba Group has a one year low of $103.71 and a one year high of $192.67. The firm has a market cap of $305.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.93, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $145.72.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The specialty retailer reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $35.30 billion during the quarter. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 4.76%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Alibaba Group will post 6.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BABA. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its position 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Alibaba Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Alibaba is expanding its Qwen AI platform into commerce use cases, including ordering and payments inside chat, which could deepen user engagement and create new monetization opportunities. Alibaba Opens Qwen To Brands – Aims To Build AI-Powered Commerce Network
• Positive Sentiment: The company unveiled a major AI stack overhaul and continued to expand its Qwen model family, signaling stronger cloud and AI revenue potential; Benchmark also reaffirmed its Buy rating. Alibaba (BABA) Expands AI Capabilities as Benchmark Reaffirms Buy Rating
• Positive Sentiment: Alibaba announced a multi-year UEFA partnership covering AI, cloud computing, and e-commerce, giving the company a high-profile international showcase for its technology stack. Alibaba Group partners with UEFA Men’s Club Competitions from 2027/28 to 2032/33 and UEFA EURO 2028
• Positive Sentiment: Alibaba Cloud signed new AI-focused partnerships, including with Manulife Hong Kong and Singapore tourism-related initiatives, which may support adoption of its enterprise AI services. Manulife Hong Kong and Alibaba Cloud Sign Strategic Partnership to Accelerate and Scale AI Innovation
• Neutral Sentiment: Alibaba confirmed a routine share-capital update and public float compliance in May 2026, which appears administrative rather than a major operating catalyst. Alibaba Reports Modest Share Increase and Confirms Public Float Compliance in May 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles note unchanged analyst price targets and broader investor attention on Alibaba’s evolving AI story, suggesting sentiment is constructive but not driven by a single new financial update. How Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) The Evolving Story Connects To Unchanged Analyst Price Targets
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors may view the latest AI rollouts as still early-stage and costly to commercialize, especially since newer Qwen models remain proprietary and closed-API only. Alibaba’s Qwen3.7-Plus supports text, video and imagery inputs at low cost of $0.4/$1.6 per 1M token — but it’s proprietary

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.