5 Best Defensive Stocks to Buy Today According to Billionaire Ken Fisher

2. Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 135

Although Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA) stock price saw some volatility in the past two quarters due to regulatory headwinds, its low beta of just over 0.80 makes it a defensive stock. The company’s revenue growth potential along with a massive user base backs its share price. At the end of the first quarter, BABA stock represented 2.22% of the Fisher Asset Management 13F stock portfolio.

Polen Capital Management highlighted a few stocks including Alibaba Group Holding Limited in the first quarter investor letter. Here is what Polen Capital Management stated:

“Alibaba also detracted from performance as the company continues to remain under regulatory scrutiny from both the Chinese State Administration for Market Regulation on antitrust concerns and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on ADR listing requirements. Despite the regulatory overhang, we believe that Alibaba’s competitive positioning and growth outlook remains intact, even if the company must pay fines or modify some business practices. We viewed the current valuation at <20x next twelve month’s earnings as a compelling opportunity to add to our position. Alibaba is the second largest position in the Portfolio.”