If Alibaba's Profit More Than Doubled, Why Is The Stock Stagnant? Bloomberg May Have The Answer

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA gained more than 4 percent on Thursday after the company reported impressive first-quarter results. However, Alibaba's stock is still virtual flat over the past year.

Bloomberg's Stephen Engle discussed Alibaba's stock performance and what is needed to jolt shares higher during Thursday's "First Up" session.

According to Engle, Alibaba is a company that has "done pretty well since its IPO" in 2014. Shares of Alibaba initially skyrocketed following its trading debut but has since "languished" and lost around one third of its value – even though its profit has doubled over the past year and has shown at least 20 percent revenue growth since its IPO.

Related Link: Alibaba Rallies Off Mixed Q1 Report

"The problem is, the company is not growing as fast as it used to grow," Engle said. "Pre-IPO they were seeing 40 to 45 percent growth in revenue year-over-year. Now we are expecting about 33 percent."

"Investors want to get more bang for their buck," he added.

Engle continued that Alibaba's investors also want to see a return on some of the company's investments in new markets across Asia. In fact, Alibaba's founder and chairman, Jack Ma, wants to see 50 percent of the company's revenue stem from outside of its native China. However, the figure currently stands at around 6 percent and has fallen for the three consecutive quarters.

Bottom line, investors simply just "want more" than what the company is currently offering.