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How to buy Alibaba shares | $261.01
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Fact checked
Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA) is a leading internet retail business based in the US. It opened the day at $260.21 after a previous close of $261.58. During the day the price has varied from a low of $255.71 to a high of $261.9. The latest price was $261.01 (25 minute delay). Alibaba is listed on the NYSE and employs 117,600 staff. All prices are listed in US Dollars.
How to buy shares in Alibaba
- Choose a platform. If you're a beginner, our share-dealing table below can help you choose.
- Open your account. You'll need your ID, bank details and national insurance number.
- Confirm your payment details. You'll need to fund your account with a bank transfer, debit card or credit card.
- Search the platform for stock code: BABA in this case.
- Research Alibaba shares. The platform should provide the latest information available.
- Buy your Alibaba shares. It's that simple.
What's in this guide?
- Can I buy shares in Alibaba?
- Alibaba shares summary
- Compare share dealing platforms
- Is Alibaba stock a buy or sell?
- Alibaba performance over time
- Can I short Alibaba shares?
- Is Alibaba suitable for ethical investing?
- Are Alibaba shares over-valued?
- Alibaba's financials
- How volatile are Alibaba shares?
- Does Alibaba pay a dividend?
- Other common questions
How has Coronavirus impacted Alibaba's share price?
Since the stock market crash in March caused by coronavirus, Alibaba's share price has had significant positive movement.
Its last market close was $240, which is 11.42% up on its pre-crash value of $212.59 and 41.22% up on the lowest point reached during the March crash when the shares fell as low as $169.95.
If you had bought $1,000 worth of Alibaba shares at the start of February 2020, those shares would have been worth $827.03 at the bottom of the March crash, and if you held on to them, then as of the last market close they'd be worth $1,125.60.
Alibaba share price
Use our graph to track the performance of BABA stocks over time.Alibaba shares at a glance
Information last updated 2020-07-10.
| Open | $260.21 |
|---|---|
| High | $261.9 |
| Low | $255.71 |
| Close | $261.01 |
| Previous close | $261.58 |
| Change | $-0.57 |
| Change % | -0.218% |
| Volume | 19,964,786 |
Information last updated 2020-06-25.
| 52-week range | $151.85 - $231.14 |
|---|---|
| 50-day moving average | $212.3357 |
| 200-day moving average | $208.3075 |
| Wall St. target price | $259.46 |
| PE ratio | 28.3331 |
| Dividend yield | N/A (0%) |
| Earnings per share (TTM) | $3.497 |
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All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Capital is at risk.
Is it a good time to buy Alibaba stock?
All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Capital is at risk.
The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.
Alibaba price performance over time
Historical closes compared with the last close of $261.01
| 1 week (2020-07-01) | 20.87% |
|---|---|
| 1 month (2020-06-11) | 21.26% |
| 3 months (2020-04-09) | 32.92% |
| 6 months (2020-01-10) | 16.61% |
| 1 year (2019-07-11) | 56.72% |
|---|---|
| 2 years (2018-07-11) | 39.26% |
| 3 years (2017-07-11) | 79.01% |
| 5 years (2015-07-10) | 225.04% |
Is Alibaba under- or over-valued?
Valuing Alibaba stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of Alibaba's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.
Alibaba's P/E ratio
Alibaba's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 28x. In other words, Alibaba shares trade at around 28x recent earnings.
That's comparable to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29).
However, Alibaba's P/E ratio is best considered in relation to those of others within the internet retail industry or those of similar companies.
- Amazon-com (AMZN.US): 129.66
- Walmart (WMT.US): 22.43
- Booking (BKNG.US): 20.95
- eBay (EBAY.US): 22.25
Alibaba's PEG ratio
Alibaba's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 1.2055. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.
The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into Alibaba's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.
However, it's sensible to consider Alibaba's PEG ratio in relation to those of similar companies.
- Amazon-com (AMZN.US): 2.92
- Walmart (WMT.US): 4.03
- Booking (BKNG.US): 14.54
- eBay (EBAY.US): 1.33
Alibaba financials
| Gross profit TTM | $227.3 billion |
|---|---|
| Return on assets TTM | 5.05% |
| Return on equity TTM | 18.98% |
| Profit margin | 29.32% |
| Book value | $24.798 |
| Market capitalisation | $601.2 billion |
TTM: trailing 12 months
Shorting Alibaba shares
There are currently 36.9 million Alibaba shares held short by investors – that's known as Alibaba's "short interest". This figure is 0.6% up from 36.7 million last month.
There are a few different ways that this level of interest in shorting Alibaba shares can be evaluated.
Alibaba's "short interest ratio" (SIR)
Alibaba's "short interest ratio" (SIR) is the quantity of Alibaba shares currently shorted divided by the average quantity of Alibaba shares traded daily (recently around 22.3 million). Alibaba's SIR currently stands at 1.65. In other words for every 100,000 Alibaba shares traded daily on the market, roughly 1650 shares are currently held short.
To gain some more context, you can compare Alibaba's short interest ratio against those of similar companies.
- Amazon-com (AMZN.US): 0.81
- Walmart (WMT.US): 1.38
- Booking (BKNG.US): 1.75
- eBay (EBAY.US): 2.09
However Alibaba's short interest can also be evaluated against the total number of Alibaba shares, or, against the total number of tradable Alibaba shares (the shares that aren't held by "insiders" or major long-term shareholders – also known as the "float"). In this case Alibaba's short interest could be expressed as 0.01% of the outstanding shares (for every 100,000 Alibaba shares in existence, roughly 10 shares are currently held short) or 0% of the tradable shares (for every 100,000 tradable Alibaba shares, roughly 0 shares are currently held short).
Such a low SIR usually points to an optimistic outlook for the share price, with fewer people currently willing to bet against Alibaba.
Find out more about how you can short Alibaba stock.
Alibaba's environmental, social and governance track record
Environmental, social and governance (known as ESG) criteria are a set of three factors used to measure the sustainability and social impact of companies like Alibaba.
When it comes to ESG scores, lower is better, and lower scores are generally associated with lower risk for would-be investors.
Alibaba's total ESG risk score
Total ESG risk: 28.21
Socially conscious investors use ESG scores to screen how an investment aligns with their worldview, and Alibaba's overall score of 28.21 (as at 01/01/2020) is pretty good – landing it in it in the 37th percentile of companies rated in the same sector.
ESG scores are increasingly used to estimate the level of risk a company like Alibaba is exposed to within the areas of "environmental" (carbon footprint, resource use etc.), "social" (health and safety, human rights etc.), and "governance" (anti-corruption, tax transparency etc.).
To gain some more context, you can compare Alibaba's total ESG risk score against those of similar companies.
- Amazon-com (AMZN.US): 34.07
- Walmart (WMT.US): 34.31
- Booking (BKNG.US): 24.95
- eBay (EBAY.US): 24.69
Alibaba's environmental score
Environmental score: 4.34/100
Alibaba's environmental score of 4.34 puts it squarely in the 4th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Alibaba is a leader in its sector terms of its environmental impact, and exposed to a lower level of risk.
Alibaba's social score
Social score: 15.2/100
Alibaba's social score of 15.2 puts it squarely in the 4th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Alibaba is a leader in its sector when it comes to taking good care of its workforce and the communities it impacts.
Alibaba's governance score
Governance score: 10.67/100
Alibaba's governance score puts it squarely in the 4th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. That could suggest that Alibaba is a leader in its sector when it comes to responsible management and strategy, and exposed to a lower level of risk.
Alibaba's controversy score
Controversy score: 2/5
ESG scores also evaluate any incidences of controversy that a company has been involved in. Alibaba scored a 2 out of 5 for controversy – the second-highest score possible, reflecting that Alibaba has, for the most part, managed to keep its nose clean.
Wondering how that compares? Below are the controversy scores of similar companies.
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) summary
Alibaba Group Holding Limited was last rated for ESG on: 2020-01-01.
| Total ESG score | 28.21 |
|---|---|
| Total ESG percentile | 36.84 |
| Environmental score | 4.34 |
| Environmental score percentile | 4 |
| Social score | 15.2 |
| Social score percentile | 4 |
| Governance score | 10.67 |
| Governance score percentile | 4 |
| Level of controversy | 2 |
Alibaba share dividends
We're not expecting Alibaba to pay a dividend over the next 12 months. However, you can browse other dividend-paying shares in our guide.
You may also wish to consider:
- Walmart (WMT.US) (1.78% forward annual dividend yield)
- eBay (EBAY.US) (1.29% forward annual dividend yield)
Alibaba share price volatility
Over the last 12 months, Alibaba's shares have ranged in value from as little as $151.85 up to $231.14. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".
Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NYSE average) beta is 1, while Alibaba's is 1.5582. This would suggest that Alibaba's shares are more volatile than the average for this exchange and represent, relatively-speaking, a higher risk (but potentially also market-beating returns).
To put Alibaba's beta into context you can compare it against those of similar companies.
- Amazon-com (AMZN.US): 1.3155
- Walmart (WMT.US): 0.305
- Booking (BKNG.US): 1.053
- eBay (EBAY.US): 1.3161
Alibaba overview
Alibaba Group Holding Limited, through its subsidiaries, provides online and mobile commerce businesses in the People's Republic of China and internationally. It operates in four segments: Core Commerce, Cloud Computing, Digital Media and Entertainment, and Innovation Initiatives and Others. The company operates Taobao Marketplace, a mobile commerce destination; Tmall, a third-party platform; Alibaba Health pharmaceutical e-commerce and consumer healthcare platforms; Alimama, a monetization platform; 1688.com, an online wholesale marketplace; Alibaba.com, an online wholesale marketplace; AliExpress, a retail marketplace; Lazada, an e-commerce platform; and Tmall Global, an import e-commerce platform. It also operates Lingshoutong, a digital sourcing platform; Cainiao Network logistic services platform; Ele.me, a delivery and local services platform; Koubei, a restaurant and local services guide platform; and Fliggy, an online travel platform. In addition, the company offers pay-for-performance and display marketing services; and Taobao Ad Network and Exchange, a real-time bidding online marketing exchange. Further, it provides elastic computing, database, storage, virtualization network, large scale computing, security, and management and application, big data analytics, machine learning platform, and Internet of Things and other services for enterprises; and payment and escrow services; and movies, television series, variety shows, animations, and other video content. Additionally, the company operates Youku, an online video platform; UC Browser, a mobile browser; Alibaba Pictures and other content platforms that provide online videos, films, live events, news feeds, literature, music, and others; Amap, a mobile digital map, navigation, and real-time traffic information app; DingTalk, a business efficiency app; and Tmall Genie, an AI-powered smart speaker. The company was founded in 1999 and is based in Hangzhou, the People's Republic of China.
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