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

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 33.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 169,039 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring 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.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 225.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

Shares of Alibaba Group stock opened at $147.56 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $350.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The business has a 50-day moving average of $111.98 and a 200 day moving average of $99.32. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 12 month low of $68.36 and a 12 month high of $148.43.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised 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 report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Benchmark upped their price objective on Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com raised Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, February 21st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $144.07.

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.