Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) Short Interest Update

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 37,520,000 shares, a decline of 14.3% from the December 15th total of 43,800,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 15,450,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 155.0% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Alibaba Group by 225.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 397 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BABA shares. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Macquarie upgraded Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.13.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BABA traded up $2.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $85.16. 21,072,995 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,289,486. Alibaba Group has a 52 week low of $66.63 and a 52 week high of $117.82. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $86.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.93 billion, a PE ratio of 17.27, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $13.19. The firm had revenue of $236.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.45 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alibaba Group will post 8.44 earnings per share 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.