Verus Capital Partners LLC Sells 4,427 Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited $BABA

Verus Capital Partners LLC lowered its holdings in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 47.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,850 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 4,427 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $608,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 54,235 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $7,950,000 after purchasing an additional 5,760 shares in the last quarter. Aureus Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 511.0% in the first quarter. Aureus Asset Management LLC now owns 9,361 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 7,829 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 24.5% in the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 259,580 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $32,567,000 after purchasing an additional 51,000 shares in the last quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Alibaba Group by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 584,028 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $85,607,000 after purchasing an additional 30,644 shares during the period. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth about $21,266,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on BABA. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Nomura reduced their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $207.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. BNP Paribas Exane began 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 for the company. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Alibaba Group from $186.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Two investment 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 company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.90.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 5.3%

Shares of Alibaba Group stock opened at $122.44 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $293.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $112.84 and its 200 day moving average is $132.85. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 1 year low of $91.99 and a 1 year high of $192.67.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The specialty retailer reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alibaba Group Announces Dividend

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

Key Stories Impacting Alibaba Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Moonshot reportedly built its Kimi AI models with access to a large Nvidia-chip cluster leased through Alibaba. The arrangement could support Alibaba Cloud revenue growth, improve data-center utilization and reinforce the company’s position as a leading Chinese AI-computing provider. Moonshot has Nvidia chip cluster from Alibaba computing deal
• Positive Sentiment: The Moonshot news boosted optimism that Alibaba’s AI spending can translate into commercial cloud demand, while broader strength in technology stocks provided a favorable backdrop for BABA. Alibaba’s AI Bet Is Powering a Rival
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank raised its Alibaba EPS forecasts to $5.84 for fiscal 2027 and $8.46 for fiscal 2028, up from previous estimates. The revisions signal improving expectations for Alibaba’s longer-term earnings power. Erste Group Bank raises Alibaba earnings estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Alibaba’s AI customer is also an AI competitor, creating a trade-off: cloud usage generates revenue, but Moonshot and other customers could develop competing services that challenge Alibaba’s own AI offerings. Alibaba’s Biggest AI Customer Is Also Its Rival
• Negative Sentiment: Rosen Law Firm and Pomerantz separately announced investigations into potential securities claims involving allegedly misleading company information. These announcements do not establish wrongdoing, but they add legal and reputational risk for shareholders. Rosen Law Firm Alibaba investigation

Insider Activity at Alibaba Group

In other news, insider Fang Jiang sold 4,898 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 5,559,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,214,487.99. This represents a 0.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, General Counsel Siying Yu sold 6,772 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.10, for a total value of $81,941.20. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 607,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,347,531.40. This trade represents a 1.10% decrease in their position. 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 920,303 shares of company stock valued at $70,796,370. 12.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.