GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd Cuts Position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 26,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,225 shares during the period. Alibaba Group accounts for 0.0% of GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $2,238,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its position in Alibaba Group by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 18,460,434 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,959,021,000 after acquiring an additional 60,667 shares during the period. Appaloosa LP boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 11,843,158 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,004,181,000 after buying an additional 1,843,158 shares in the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $936,785,000 after acquiring an additional 3,448,152 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 78,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 3,180.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,857,760 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $409,385,000 after purchasing an additional 3,740,150 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $104.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Arete Research upgraded Alibaba Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE BABA opened at $135.16 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $321.14 billion, a PE ratio of 19.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $116.49 and a 200-day moving average of $100.78. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 52-week low of $68.36 and a 52-week high of $148.43.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 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 analyst estimates of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 12.29%. On average, analysts anticipate 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.