Kovack Advisors Inc. Acquires 1,420 Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 73.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,354 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,420 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $284,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BABA. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Alibaba Group by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 155,440 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $13,180,000 after acquiring an additional 27,088 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 131.2% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 74,807 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,343,000 after purchasing an additional 42,446 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 63.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 28,716 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,047,000 after purchasing an additional 11,192 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 7,734.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 269,805 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,632,000 after purchasing an additional 266,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aspex Management HK Ltd bought a new position in Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $115,995,000. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BABA. StockNews.com upgraded Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of BABA stock opened at $132.45 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $100.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.88. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 12-month low of $68.36 and a 12-month high of $145.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market cap of $314.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.31.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 12.29%. Equities analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alibaba Group Company Profile

Alibaba Group Holding Limited, through its subsidiaries, provides technology infrastructure and marketing reach to help merchants, brands, retailers, and other businesses to engage with their users and customers in the People's Republic of China and internationally. The company operates through seven segments: China Commerce, International Commerce, Local Consumer Services, Cainiao, Cloud, Digital Media and Entertainment, and Innovation Initiatives and Others.