Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Down 3.5% Following Analyst Downgrade
by Scott Moore · The Cerbat GemAlibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA – Get Free Report)’s share price was down 3.5% during trading on Thursday after Zacks Research downgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong sell rating. The company traded as low as $129.62 and last traded at $131.65. Approximately 10,612,003 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 11% from the average daily volume of 11,958,254 shares. The stock had previously closed at $136.42.
A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on BABA. Argus raised Alibaba Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Alibaba Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Arete Research upgraded Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. DZ Bank downgraded Alibaba Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Alibaba Group from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.68.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on Alibaba Group
Key Stories Impacting Alibaba Group
Here are the key news stories impacting Alibaba Group this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Alibaba’s Qwen AI signed its first commercial tie-up with China Eastern Airlines, enabling natural‑language flight search, booking and trip management — a concrete consumer use case that can monetize Qwen and boost platform engagement. Alibaba’s Qwen AI Partnerships Highlight New Use Cases And Valuation Gap
- Positive Sentiment: Qwen was expanded into multiple Chinese automakers at the Beijing auto show, bringing voice bookings, payments and delivery services in‑car — a path to recurring revenue and deeper ecosystem adoption. Alibaba’s Qwen AI is coming to cars, allowing drivers order food and book hotels by voice
- Positive Sentiment: Alibaba Cloud’s Qwen models are now accessible on‑chain to autonomous AI agents via a 0G Foundation integration — this positions Qwen as an infrastructure play for on‑chain AI use cases, potentially opening new enterprise and developer revenue streams. 0G to Make Alibaba’s Qwen wModels Accessible to AI Agents via Blockchain Integration
- Positive Sentiment: Reports say Alibaba is in talks with Tencent to invest in AI startup DeepSeek — a strategic stake could accelerate Alibaba’s AI roadmap and consolidate talent/tech access in China. Alibaba Weighs DeepSeek AI Stake As Social Commerce Role Expands
- Neutral Sentiment: DeepSeek released a V4 preview and other Chinese players (e.g., Tencent) unveiled upgraded models — intensifying competition in China’s LLM market; this could both spur faster adoption and compress pricing/margins. China’s DeepSeek releases preview of long-awaited V4 model as AI race intensifies
- Negative Sentiment: Zacks downgraded BABA from “hold” to “strong sell,” which can pressure sentiment and trigger short‑term selling by retail/quant traders tracking ratings. Zacks Research Downgrade
- Negative Sentiment: Alibaba disclosed issuance of new shares under equity incentive plans in April 2026 — potential dilution that investors will watch when assessing EPS and valuation. Alibaba Issues New Shares Under Equity Incentive Plans in April 2026
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 101.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 143 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. NBT Bank N A NY increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 231.5% in the 3rd quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 179 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Alibaba Group Price Performance
The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $134.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $152.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $324.53 billion, a PE ratio of 25.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.33.
Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The specialty retailer reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 9.12%.The business had revenue of $40.71 billion for the quarter. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 4.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.
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.