Count the king of meme-stocks among the investors betting that Alibaba Group Holding’s stellar recent run can last.
Alibaba reported better-than-expected earnings on Thursday.
GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen has lifted his stake in the Chinese online retailer to 7 million shares worth about $1 billion in recent months, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Cohen first took a position in the e-commerce company two years ago, and is loading up on more stock because he’s betting that China’s faltering economy will rebound, per the report.
Cohen and GameStop didn’t immediately respond to a Barron’s request for comment.
In December, Barron’s highlighted Alibaba as one of 10 stock picks for 2025, arguing that it could jump 50% in 2025 if investors warm to beaten-down Chinese stocks.
The market has proved even more bullish. Alibaba’s U.S.-traded American depositary receipts have jumped 60% in 2025, compared with a 4% rise for the S&P 500 index. The ADRs climbed another 6.6% Friday after the Journal reported Cohen had lifted his stake.
Quarterly earnings published Thursday underlined the stock’s appeal. Revenue for Alibaba’s traditional online retail business held up better than analysts were expecting as Beijing rolls out stimulus measures to revive sluggish growth. Cloud revenue also topped forecasts, thanks to a triple-digit-percentage surge in sales of artificial intelligence-related products, and the company looks set to double down on that division after it guided that it would aggressively increase its capital expenditures over the next three years.
At least 13 analysts covering the stock have raised their price targets since Thursday, according to FactSet data—a sign of just how impressive the latest results were.
“Alibaba’s earnings essentially checked all the boxes and more,” Benchmark Equity Research’s Fawne Jiang said in a research note, adding that the higher spending guidance reflects “both the surge in [AI] demand and the company’s determination to lead in this transformative era.” She rates Alibaba ADRs at a Buy with a $190 price target, which implies they can climb another 40% from the current level.
News of Cohen’s bet could give the stock another boost by luring in retail investors. He’s seen as something of an oracle by the Reddit day-trading crowd, having founded the pet-food retailer Chewy, fanned the explosive surge in GameStop shares during the pandemic, and built and then dumped a big stake in Bed Bath & Beyond, another onetime meme-stock favorite.
If analysts are right about Alibaba, he could be about to strike gold again.
Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.