Ethic Inc. Purchases 11,544 Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 406.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 14,382 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,544 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $1,219,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Appaloosa LP grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 11,843,158 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,004,181,000 after buying an additional 1,843,158 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter worth $585,479,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Alibaba Group by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,676,773 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $566,124,000 after acquiring an additional 438,537 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,093,828 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $431,906,000 after purchasing an additional 78,757 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 3,978,977 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $337,377,000 after purchasing an additional 44,901 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BABA. Mizuho upgraded shares of Alibaba Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Alibaba Group from $170.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Benchmark boosted their price objective on Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $150.36.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:BABA opened at $131.70 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $124.03 and its 200-day moving average is $106.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 52 week low of $71.80 and a 52 week high of $148.43. The company has a market capitalization of $314.49 billion, a PE ratio of 19.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 12.89%. Equities research analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alibaba Group 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.