Bailard Inc. Raises Stock Position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Bailard Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Free Report) by 46.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,245 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 3,242 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.'s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 225.4% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 397 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth about $60,000. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BABA. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Alibaba Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $104.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Arete Research upgraded Alibaba Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BABA traded up $0.64 on Friday, hitting $140.59. 31,788,067 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,602,209. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $104.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.30. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 1-year low of $68.36 and a 1-year high of $145.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $334.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.31.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $38.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $38.19 billion. Sell-side analysts predict 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.