Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Rating Lowered to Hold at Erste Group Bank

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) was downgraded by stock analysts at Erste Group Bank from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Rosenblatt Securities set a $195.00 price objective on Alibaba Group in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $218.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $195.17.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

BABA stock traded up $1.71 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $157.14. The company had a trading volume of 677,217 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,157,938. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $159.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.99. Alibaba Group has a 1-year low of $95.73 and a 1-year high of $192.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The company has a market capitalization of $375.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.39.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BABA. Gotham Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth $422,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new position in Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $702,000. First Manhattan CO. LLC. raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 2,359 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Claar Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Claar Advisors LLC now owns 57,689 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $8,456,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Claro Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Claro Advisors Inc. now owns 2,680 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $393,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alibaba Group News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: New AI product boost — Alibaba launched the Qwen?3.5 model, which the company says runs up to 8x faster with materially lower costs and agentic capabilities; this strengthens Alibaba’s cloud/AI revenue thesis and is driving investor optimism. Alibaba Group unveils Qwen3.5 as China’s chatbot race shifts to AI agents
• Positive Sentiment: Cloud traction cited by bulls — analysts note cloud revenue growth (reported +34% YoY) and argue shares are undervalued if AI-related revenue and normalized EPS recover, supporting a case for upside to ~$176–$200/share. Alibaba: Shares At Critical Support Into Earnings, AI Capex In Focus
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst tone mixed-to-favorable — some broker consensus sits at a “Moderate Buy,” adding to near?term demand as investors position for Q3 results and AI cadence. Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts
• Neutral Sentiment: Competitive backdrop — comparisons to Amazon and regional peers highlight both Alibaba’s AI/capex push and areas where rivals (e.g., AWS) currently hold advantages; this is a longer?term strategic factor rather than an immediate catalyst. Amazon vs. Alibaba: Which E-Commerce Titan Has an Edge Right Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Earnings and margin concerns — a sell-side note warns risks outweigh rewards after Q2 showed steep operating income declines and negative levered free cash flow as AI investments compressed margins; the recent rally was largely multiple expansion, not earnings improvement. Alibaba: Risk Outweighs Reward In Its Q3 Earnings Despite AI Chips
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and legal overhangs — an ongoing securities?fraud investigation and fresh media reports about Pentagon scrutiny/blacklist risk have recently pressured sentiment and could pose execution or reputational headwinds. Securities-Fraud-Investigation-Into-Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA) Continues
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical / defense scrutiny — reports that the Pentagon has examined Alibaba’s AI work have been linked to a recent slide and raise potential policy/regulatory risk that could affect business with certain customers. Alibaba Faces Pentagon Scrutiny As Qwen 3.5 Sharpens AI Investment Case

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.