Alibaba registered one billion American depository shares on Feb. 4, a move which Citigroup analysts interpret as a sign that the company’s early-stage investor SoftBank is set to sell off its shares in the e-commerce giant. Citigroup analysts including Alicia Yap wrote that registering the shares, already owned by SoftBank before Alibaba’s initial public offering, will give holders more flexibility to sell and could cover Alibaba’s need to issue new shares for employee equity incentive plans. [Bloomberg]