Josh Gottheimer, the Representative of New Jersey’s 5th congressional district, is accelerating his interest in e-commerce against Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) by purchasing additional stock in the company.
Notably, Alibaba has gained a keen interest in the stock markets due to its recent bullish momentum and as a top bet by famed investor Michael Burry, who predicted the 2008 financial crisis.
In the latest purchase, Gottheimer disclosed a new acquisition of Alibaba stock in a transaction that occurred on February 12 and was filed on March 6. He spent between $1000 and $15,000 on the Congress trade.
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This follows his initial purchase on October 16, 2024, after which the Chinese tech giant’s stock surged 37%.
Gottheimer serves on the House Intelligence Committee, a position that grants him access to sensitive geopolitical information. His decision to invest in Alibaba—one of China’s largest technology firms—raises speculation about whether his trades were based on privileged knowledge.
Adding to the intrigue is the timing of the transaction, especially given that Alibaba’s stock has significantly outperformed the broader market.
Since his initial purchase, the S&P 500 has declined 1.07%, while Alibaba has posted strong gains, trading at $140.62 as of press time—ending the day up a modest 0.4%. Year-to-date, the stock has rallied a massive 65% in contrast to the volatile broader market.
Amid these suspicions, Rep. Gottheimer has maintained he handed over management of his investments to a third party before taking office, giving them full discretion.
The lawmaker also supports legislation requiring blind trust for members of Congress, judges, and policymaking employees.
Why BABA stock is surging
Alibaba’s recent surge in value has mainly been driven by the company’s increasing venture into artificial intelligence (AI). Indeed, BABA recorded more momentum after the e-commerce giant launched QwQ-32B, a 32-billion-parameter reasoning model aimed at competing with DeepSeek’s R1.
Despite its smaller size (compared to R1’s 671 billion parameters), Alibaba highlighted its efficiency, particularly in math and coding, aligning with the industry trend of reducing computational costs.
AI is now a key pillar of Alibaba’s cloud business, a major profit driver that fueled strong earnings in the December quarter. CEO Eddie Wu expects AI-driven cloud revenue to accelerate further.
The company is also benefiting from a more supportive regulatory stance in China and a rebounding equity market, attracting institutional investors betting on its AI-led growth.
With a $52 billion commitment to AI infrastructure over three years, Alibaba is positioning itself as a key player in China’s AI race amid competition from U.S. entities such as OpenAI.
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