JD.com, Alibaba's Biggest Rival, Is Good But Not That Good

This article was originally published by Seeking Alpha on June 10, 2014

By Sarfaraz A. Khan. Research Asst. Ali Ilahi
 

JD.com, Alibaba’s biggest rival, recently was listed on Nasdaq. The company’s business model is closer to that of Amazon than Alibaba. Its strength lies in its fulfillment infrastructure and mobile. However, JD.com has its fair share of weaknesses.
 

China's biggest online direct sales company and the second largest e-commerce company after Alibaba, Jingdong, commonly known as JD.com, recently debuted on Nasdaq in a $1.78 billion IPO.
 

This was the third largest IPO in the U.S for the year and also the biggest IPO for any Chinese company trading on Nasdaq.

Jumei Will Beautify Your Portfolio While Giving You Exposure to China

This article was originally published by TheStreet on May 28, 2014

By Sarfaraz A. Khan. Research Asst. Ali Elahi

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- With all the hype surrounding the initial public offering of Alibaba, a little-known, four-year old Chinese company called Jumei International (JMEI), the biggest player in the online beauty products niche, quietly debuted at the New York Stock Exchange.

Jumei, whose shares recently traded around $27, up over 15%, has been growing its revenue, income and customer base at triple-digit rates. The company has a healthy balance sheet, with increasing cash reserves and zero debt.

The Beijing company, valued at $3.2 billion, sells beauty products such as cosmetics, skin care products and fragrances, primarily from its Web site and mobile applications. The company opened its first physical store in Beijing in late 2013. The company is currently eyeing expansion by investing in mobile and growing its exclusive products portfolio.

Jumei's American depository receipts recently traded around $27, up over 15% compared with its IPO price of $22. This makes Jumei a bargain -- on average, shares of Jumei's peers trade at over 50 times their annual sales, according to data compiled by Thomson Reuters.

Why No One Wants This Alibaba IPO More Than Yahoo!

This article was originally published by TheStreet on March 21, 2014. 

By Sarfaraz A. Khan, Research assistant: Gohar Yousuf
March 28, 2014
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Alibaba, the best-known face of China's Internet, is ready to pounce on U.S. investors in what could be the biggest Chinese initial public offering ever.

After months of speculation, the Chinese online e-commerce giant finally revealed the IPO is coming to a U.S. stock exchange. Alot of the excitement comes from Alibaba being a huge and profitable company, with a charismatic leader and no direct competitor.

Perhaps no company is more ready for that IPO than Yahoo! (YHOO_), which owns a 24% stake in Alibaba. In the coming weeks, Yahoo!'s shares could outperform its peers in anticipation of the IPO. What happens after the IPO is another matter because Yahoo! has to sell a significant portion of that stake. Over the past 52 weeks Yahoo!'s shares are up 67% but for the year to date they are down nearly 6%. Shares recently traded around $38.