--- title: "Traders Purchase Large Volume of Alibaba Group Call Options (NYSE:BABA)" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/283058738.md" description: "Traders purchased 267,430 call options for Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA), a 44% increase from the average volume. Analysts have mixed views, with JPMorgan lowering its target price to $205 and Erste Group downgrading to a hold. Despite this, 16 analysts rate it a buy. Positive sentiment surrounds Alibaba's AI advancements and cloud monetization efforts, while technical challenges persist as the stock trades below its 200-day moving average. BABA stock rose to $138.65, with a market cap of $331.02 billion and a P/E ratio of 26.16." datetime: "2026-04-16T21:59:15.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/283058738.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/283058738.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/283058738.md) --- # Traders Purchase Large Volume of Alibaba Group Call Options (NYSE:BABA) Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Investors acquired 267,430 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 44% compared to the typical daily volume of 185,215 call options. Get **Alibaba Group** alerts: ## Wall Street Analyst Weigh In - These 3 ETFs Are Suitable for Ultra-Bearish Investors Several research firms have commented on BABA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $215.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Alibaba Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. DZ Bank lowered Alibaba Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $135.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, March 20th. Susquehanna cut their target price on Alibaba Group from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Alibaba Group from $225.00 to $212.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $187.68. **Get Our Latest Analysis on Alibaba Group** ## Key Stories Impacting Alibaba Group - Valuation to the Moon? SpaceX Gears Up for IPO Liftoff With a Confidential Filing Here are the key news stories impacting Alibaba Group this week: - Positive Sentiment: Unusually large call buying — investors purchased ~267,430 call options (≈44% above average), signaling short‑term bullish positioning and added upside speculation in BABA shares. - Positive Sentiment: New enterprise LLM aimed at cloud monetization — Alibaba released Qwen3.6‑Plus targeting agentic coding and multimodal enterprise workflows, which could help drive stickier cloud usage and higher ASPs for cloud services. Can Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) Turn New AI Tools Into a Durable Cloud Monetization Engine? - Positive Sentiment: Happy Oyster AI World model launch — Alibaba unveiled an AI world model as part of its AI product push, reinforcing investor enthusiasm around differentiated AI offerings across cloud and apps. Alibaba Group Launches Happy Oyster AI World Model - Positive Sentiment: No‑code AI tooling — Alibaba introduced a no‑code AI tool to build apps in minutes, which could broaden developer adoption and accelerate monetization of AI services on its cloud. Alibaba Unveils No-Code AI Tool to Build Apps in Minutes - Positive Sentiment: Advances in media/3D AI — Alibaba released a model for 3D video and gaming development, signaling moves into new high‑value developer and media workflows that overlap with Tencent’s turf. Alibaba Moves Onto Tencent’s Turf With AI Model for 3D Video - Positive Sentiment: Big investor flows — reports say a prominent short-focused investor has taken a position on the long side amid Alibaba’s AI expansion, adding institutional buying interest. Alibaba (BABA) Stock Gains Ground as Big Short Investor Jumps In Amid AI Expansion - Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains constructive — Barclays kept an Overweight rating (trimmed PT slightly), signaling continued analyst conviction in Alibaba’s AI/cloud strategy. Barclays Stays Bullish on Alibaba as AI Investment Ramps Up - Neutral Sentiment: Robotics push — Alibaba’s Amap unit is rolling out an embodied quadruped robot and exploring humanoids; strategically interesting but highly competitive and longer‑dated for revenue impact. Alibaba’s Amap to launch first embodied robot, starting with robotic dog - Neutral Sentiment: Geographic fintech expansion — Alibaba‑backed BNPL service secured licensing to enter Pakistan, expanding payments footprint but with modest near‑term revenue impact. Alibaba-backed Buy Now Pay Later firm gets SECP licence - Negative Sentiment: Technical/valuation headwinds — price remains below the 200‑day moving average and well under the 52‑week high, suggesting medium‑term resistance and that earnings/monetization proof will be needed to sustain rallies. ## Alibaba Group Price Performance BABA stock traded up $5.37 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $138.65. 17,092,104 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,068,590. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $138.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.62. The company has a market cap of $331.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.50. Alibaba Group has a one year low of $103.71 and a one year high of $192.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. - Why Alibaba's New 5nm Chip Could Be a Game Changer Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The specialty retailer reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $40.71 billion during the quarter. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 7.43%. Equities analysts forecast that Alibaba Group will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year. ## Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the third quarter worth about $30,000. NBT Bank N A NY boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 231.5% in the third quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 179 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. ## About Alibaba Group (Get Free Report) 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. ## Read More - Five stocks we like better than Alibaba Group _This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com._ ## Should You Invest $1,000 in Alibaba Group Right Now? Before you consider Alibaba Group, you'll want to hear this. MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Alibaba Group wasn't on the list. While Alibaba Group currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here ### Related Stocks - [BABA.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BABA.US.md) - [09988.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/09988.HK.md) - [KWEB.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/KWEB.US.md) - [KBAB.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/KBAB.US.md) - [CLOU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/CLOU.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [Morgan Stanley Calls Alibaba (BABA) a 'Top Pick' on Strong Cloud Growth](https://longbridge.com/en/news/282529300.md) - [Dara Capital US Inc. Invests $862,000 in Alibaba Group Holding Limited $BABA](https://longbridge.com/en/news/282439306.md) - [LinkedIn is quietly moving into the AI training business](https://longbridge.com/en/news/282581371.md) - [Baillie Gifford & Co. Acquires 368,760 Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited $BABA](https://longbridge.com/en/news/282645904.md) - [Oracle Stock Surges on AI Upgrades. Should You Chase the Rally Here?](https://longbridge.com/en/news/282702659.md)