How to buy Alibaba shares | $309.81

Alibaba Group Holding Limited is an internet retail business with stocks listed in the US. Alibaba shares (BABA) are listed on the NYSE and all prices are listed in US Dollars. Its last market close was US$309.81 – an increase of 2.91% over the previous week.

How to buy shares in Alibaba

1. Compare share trading platforms. To buy shares in a US company from Australia you'll need to find a trading platform that offers access to US stock markets. If you're just starting out, look for a platform with low brokerage and foreign exchange fees.
2. Open and fund your brokerage account. Complete an application with your personal and financial details, like your ID and tax file number. Fund your account with a bank transfer, credit card or debit card.
3. Search for Alibaba. Find the share by name or ticker symbol: BABA. Research its history to confirm it's a solid investment against your financial goals.
4. Purchase now or later. Buy today with a market order or use a limit order to delay your purchase until Alibaba reaches your desired price. To spread out your risk, look into dollar-cost averaging, which smooths out buying at consistent intervals and amounts.
5. Decide on how many to buy. At last close price of US$309.81, weigh your budget against a diversified portfolio that can minimise risk through the market's ups and downs. You may be able to buy a fractional share of Alibaba, depending on your broker.
6. Check in on your investment. Congratulations, you own a part of Alibaba. Optimise your portfolio by tracking how your stock — and even the business — performs with an eye on the long term. You may be eligible for dividends and shareholder voting rights on directors and management that can affect your stock.

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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 US$309.81, which is 31.38% up on its pre-crash value of US$212.59 and 82.29% up on the lowest point reached during the March crash when the shares fell as low as US$169.95.

If you had bought US$1,000 worth of Alibaba shares at the start of February 2020, those shares would have been worth US$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 US$1,453.01.

Alibaba share price

Use our graph to track the performance of BABA stocks over time.

Alibaba shares at a glance

• Key figures

Information last updated 2020-10-20.

Latest market close	USD$309.81
52-week range	USD$168.12 - USD$313.81
50-day moving average	USD$285.6951
200-day moving average	USD$242.6724
Target price	USD$322.1
PE ratio	30.9909
Dividend yield	N/A (0%)
Earnings per share (TTM)	USD$9.31

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The value of your investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance is no indication of future results.

Is it a good time to buy Alibaba stock?

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.

Technical Analysis of Alibaba Group Holding Limited by TradingView

Alibaba price performance over time

Historical closes compared with the close of $309.81 on 2020-10-20

1 week (2020-10-15)	3.46%
1 month (2020-09-22)	12.54%
3 months (2020-07-22)	23.09%
6 months (2020-04-22)	47.56%

1 year (2019-10-22)	82.36%
2 years (2018-10-22)	108.21%
3 years (2017-10-20)	74.72%
5 years (2015-10-22)	336.41%

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 31x. In other words, Alibaba shares trade at around 31x recent earnings.

That's relatively high compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The high P/E ratio could mean that investors are optimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're over-valued.

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 1.4764. 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.

Alibaba financials

Gross profit TTM	US$230 billion
Return on assets TTM	5.5%
Return on equity TTM	21.51%
Profit margin	32%
Book value	24.798
Market capitalisation	US$830 billion

TTM: trailing 12 months

Shorting Alibaba shares

There are currently 46.5 million Alibaba shares held short by investors – that's known as Alibaba's "short interest". This figure is 17.8% up from 39.5 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 11.3 million). Alibaba's SIR currently stands at 4.11. In other words for every 100,000 Alibaba shares traded daily on the market, roughly 4110 shares are currently held short.

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 0.02% of the outstanding shares (for every 100,000 Alibaba shares in existence, roughly 20 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 12/31/2019) 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.).

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.

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.

Alibaba share price volatility

Over the last 12 months, Alibaba's shares have ranged in value from as little as US$168.12 up to US$313.81. 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 1.5019. 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).

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 through 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 online and mobile commerce platform for brands and retailers; Alibaba Health Internet platforms for pharmaceutical and healthcare products; Alimama, a monetization platform; 1688.com and Alibaba.com, which are online wholesale marketplaces; 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, management and application, big data analytics, and Internet of Things and other services for enterprises; payment and escrow services; and movies, television series, variety shows, animations, and other video content. Additionally, the company operates Youku, an online video platform; 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.

Frequently asked questions

• What percentage of Alibaba is owned by insiders or institutions?

  Currently 25.373% of Alibaba shares are held by insiders and 48.804% by institutions.

• When does the fiscal year end for Alibaba?

  Alibaba's fiscal year ends in March.

• Where is Alibaba based?

  Alibaba's address is: 969 West Wen Yi Road, Hangzhou, China, 311121

• What is Alibaba's ISIN number?

  Alibaba's international securities identification number is: US01609W1027

• What is Alibaba's CUSIP number?

  Alibaba's Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures number is: 01609W102