Billionaire investor Ryan Cohen raises Alibaba stake to US$1B as Chinese tech stocks boom

SINGAPORE: Billionaire investor Ryan Cohen has raised his stake in Alibaba Group to about US$1 billion (S$1.34 billion) in recent months, according to The Wall Street Journal on Feb 20. Sources familiar with the matter said Mr Cohen now holds around seven million shares in the Chinese e-commerce giant.

Mr Cohen first built a major stake in the company in early 2023, investing hundreds of millions of dollars. At the time, he pushed to increase and speed up share buybacks, believing the stock was undervalued, as reported by Reuters, citing sources.

Reuters reported that neither Mr Cohen nor Alibaba has responded to requests for comment. The latest report from WSJ suggests he has had recent discussions with Alibaba.

Alibaba’s stock has been rising thanks to growing optimism in Chinese tech artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek. A recent meeting between President Xi Jinping and tech leaders has further boosted investor confidence.

Alibaba’s third-quarter revenue beat analysts’ expectations, driven by strong year-end sales. The company also announced plans to increase investments in AI and cloud computing. So far this year, the stock has climbed more than 60 per cent.

Mr Cohen, dubbed the “meme king” for rallying retail investors during the pandemic’s meme stock surge, made his fortune by co-founding pet retailer Chewy and investing in GameStop and Apple.

In March 2022, he revealed a 9.8 per cent stake in Bed Bath & Beyond, pushing for changes in the struggling retailer. However, he sold his stake five months later. In April 2023, Bed Bath filed for bankruptcy. /TISG

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