Alibaba Shares Fall Below IPO Price on China Worries, Competition

Alibaba (BABA) shares fell below its IPO price on worries about slowing growth in its home country of China as well as competition among Internet retailers. Last fall, Alibaba debuted on the New York Stock Exchange as one of the largest technology IPOs in history, raising $25 billion. Alibaba shares popped as much as 34% from its IPO price of $68 per share. In November, shares surged to a record $119 per share, a 75% jump from its IPO price. But during Monday's global stock market sell-off, Alibaba shares fell as low as $59 per share. As China’s economy has weakened, investors have also become concerned about Alibaba’s slowing revenue growth, and increased competition from e-commerce rival JD.com. In last week’s earnings, Alibaba reported that its latest quarter’s revenue rose 28% to $3.26 billion, missing analyst estimates. Yahoo is also effected by this plunge. Yahoo is expected to spin off its massive stake in Alibaba in the fourth quarter of this year.