Alibaba Group Holding Limited BABA shares, which rallied to a high of $313.81 on Oct. 19, 2020, have come way off the level. After bottoming at $73.28 on March 15, the stock showed some signs of a reversal. Regulators, Economic Softness Hurt Alibaba: Ever since Alibaba's outspoken founder Jack Ma openly criticized the government and the system in place in late-2020, the company has come under increasing regulatory scrutiny. China's crackdown on its high-and-mighty tech companies started with Alibaba in late-2020. The domestic securities regulator poured cold water on the initial public offering plans of Alibaba's affiliate company, Ant Financial. Later, regulators required Ant, a fintech company, to organize itself as a bank holding company, bringing it under increasing scrutiny and also necessitating stricter capital requirement norms.