Chinese internet giant Alibaba is on the offensive after a recent article warned that the firm could lose up to 50% of its value.
The furor started with an article posted in Barron’s over the weekend. Journalist Jonathan Laing had wrote that the NASDAQ-listed firm was massively over-valued, and faces losing half of its value amid an “array of problems”.
This only adds to Alibaba’s stress. As of Friday, Alibaba’s stock was trading at $64.68, having slipped below its $68 IPO price from it when it went public a year ago.
Laing raised red flags regarding business practices, counterfeit goods, conflicts of interest, and corporate governance. Needless to say Alibaba was not happy and promptly published a point-by-point rebuttal on its website in the early hours of this morning, accusing the journalist of factual inaccuracies and using selective use of information.
Alibaba’s stock has not been in great shape for a while. It peaked at around $119 a share in November last year and have been steadily declining ever since. No doubt the Barron’s article will have an impact on the company’s stock, how much may depend on how well Alibaba has argued its case. We will see when the US markets open today.
Photo: Patrick Bouquet