Phoenix Financial Ltd. Reduces Stake in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Phoenix Financial Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 50.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,035 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 12,424 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $1,021,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA acquired a new position in Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $911,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in Alibaba Group by 131.2% in the fourth 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 during the period. Bailard Inc. increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 46.3% during the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 10,245 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $869,000 after acquiring an additional 3,242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in Alibaba Group by 31.3% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 18,465 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,566,000 after purchasing an additional 4,397 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BABA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $104.00 to $165.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. Benchmark upped their price target on Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target 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 analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $150.36.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 0.9 %

BABA stock opened at $103.88 on Friday. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a fifty-two week low of $68.36 and a fifty-two week high of $148.43. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $126.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $246.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.01, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 12.89%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current fiscal 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.