Alibaba Surpasses Wal-Mart By Market Cap

China's largest e-commerce company surpassed the world's largest brick-and-mortar retailer by market cap in intraday trade Tuesday. Alibaba Group's market capitalization hit a high of $248.15 billion during Tuesday's session, surpassing Wal-Mart Stores , whose market cap reached $247.5 billion earlier in the day. Shares of Alibaba, which is China's largest e-commerce company and part owned by Yahoo Inc. , have risen 47% since pricing at $68 during the company's September IPO. The company, run by Jack Ma, has been growing rapidly as more consumers shift to the Internet to buy everyday items. Alibaba's sales, however, are still a fraction of Wal-Mart's. The Chinese giant posted sales of $2.54 billion in the second quarter, compared with Wal-Mart's $120 billion.