First Washington CORP Raises Holdings in Alibaba Group Holding Limited $BABA

First Washington CORP lifted its position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 48.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,013 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,112 shares during the quarter. Alibaba Group comprises about 2.4% of First Washington CORP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. First Washington CORP’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $8,533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BABA. Hoey Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 95.2% during the 1st quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 205 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Palladiem LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in Alibaba Group by 15,000.0% in the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 302 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Alibaba Group

In related news, CEO Fan (Fj) Jiang sold 13,579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.10, for a total value of $164,305.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 556,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,735,065.70. The trade was a 2.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.10, for a total value of $81,941.20. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 607,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,347,531.40. This represents a 1.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 920,303 shares of company stock worth $70,796,370. Insiders own 12.50% of the company’s stock.

Key Alibaba Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Alibaba’s AI efforts got another boost after a unit said its “5-in-1” AI system can give robots a unified brain, body, and limbs, reinforcing the company’s push into next-generation robotics and applied AI. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Investor sentiment may also be supported by news that Alibaba’s Qwen model will power Apple Intelligence features in China, a meaningful commercialization milestone for its AI platform. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators continue to highlight Alibaba’s steady AI progress, suggesting the company is building credibility as a competitive AI player. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Alibaba-backed AGTech signed a technical services agreement to build a trading platform for the Hong Kong Gold Exchange, a business-development update with limited direct near-term impact on BABA. Article
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms launched or expanded securities-class-action investigations into Alibaba, alleging possible misleading disclosures, which can add legal uncertainty and pressure the shares. Article
• Negative Sentiment: Separate investor alerts from Rosen and Pomerantz may keep litigation concerns in focus and contribute to the stock’s underperformance versus the broader market. Article

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on BABA shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Alibaba Group from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $186.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. HSBC set a $170.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $209.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.90.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

Shares of BABA stock opened at $114.09 on Friday. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a twelve month low of $91.99 and a twelve month high of $192.67. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $134.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $273.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.51.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The specialty retailer reported $0.01 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%. On average, analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 6.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alibaba Group Announces Dividend

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

Alibaba Group 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.