Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) has been on a strong run, nearly doubling year-to-date, helped by signs of stronger consumer spending in China and improving profitability in its e-commerce division. Adding to the upbeat tone, Cathie Wood increased her exposure to the Chinese tech leader. On October 23, her ARK Invest funds purchased 68,939 Alibaba shares across the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK), ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW), and ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF), valued at about $11.4 million.
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Wood’s latest move shows rising confidence in Alibaba’s long-term growth prospects, especially in cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI), which are starting to deliver results. Her purchase came just a day after Mizuho analyst James Lee reaffirmed his Buy (Outperform) rating and raised his price target to $195 from $159, implying about 13.4% upside from current levels.
Analyst Sees More Upside on Strong Orders and AI Momentum
Lee said his team’s checks showed strong delivery order growth in the summer quarter, ahead of Q2 results, helped by higher incentives that boosted Alibaba’s e-commerce activity.
He also highlighted Alibaba’s expanding role in banking and financial services, saying the company is well positioned to gain market share with its AI-driven technology platform. Lee added that Alibaba’s open-source approach gives it an advantage, helping it deploy AI tools across different business areas more easily than rivals.
According to Mizuho, continued progress in AI, cloud, and e-commerce should support steady revenue growth and improve investor confidence in the months ahead.
What Is the Price Target for BABA Stock?
Analysts remain bullish about Alibaba’s stock trajectory. With 19 Buy ratings and two Hold ratings, BABA stock commands a Strong Buy consensus rating on TipRanks. Also, the average Alibaba price target of $198.21 implies about 15.31% upside potential from current levels.
