Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. shares jumped after the New York Times reported that founder Jack Ma has been buying up shares in the company.
Ma and Alibaba Chairman Joe Tsai have both being buying up shares in recent months as the stock plunged, the newspaper reported Tuesday, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.
Alibaba’s US-traded shares gained as much as 8.6% in New York, the most intraday since last July. They had declined 43% over the past 12 months as Alibaba, once the most valuable company in China, has fallen behind Chinese rivals like Tencent Holdings Ltd. and PDD Holdings Inc.
Tsai’s Blue Pool Management family investment vehicle purchased almost 2 million of Alibaba’s US-traded shares in the fourth quarter, worth about $152 million, according to a securities filing on Tuesday. It was the first time Tsai’s fund has purchased Alibaba shares since at least the last quarter of 2017, according to a review of regulatory filings.
Ma, who gave up his role as executive chairman in 2019 but is still a major shareholder, bought $50 million worth of stock in the quarter, the Times reported, citing a person with knowledge of the matter.
Ma has been selling shares in Alibaba in recent years and his stake in the business had dropped below 5%.
He disclosed plans to sell 10 million shares worth about $870 million on November 21 through two companies he owns, JC Properties Ltd. and JSP Investment Ltd., according to regulatory filings last year.
The share purchases reflect Ma’s and Tsai’s belief that the business is undervalued after its stock fell sharply from its 2020 peak, the Times reported. Alibaba is valued at about $175 billion.
