Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Increases Stake in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 33.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 169,039 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 42,621 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $14,333,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 155,440 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $13,180,000 after purchasing an additional 27,088 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth about $911,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 131.2% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 74,807 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,343,000 after acquiring an additional 42,446 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 46.3% in the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 10,245 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $869,000 after acquiring an additional 3,242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 266,361 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $104.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 4.6 %

Shares of BABA stock opened at $147.56 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $350.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The business’s 50 day moving average is $111.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.32. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a twelve month low of $68.36 and a twelve month high of $148.43.

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

About Alibaba Group

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.