Alibaba Group Holding Limited $BABA Shares Acquired by Premier Fund Managers Ltd

Key Points

• Premier Fund Managers increased its stake in Alibaba by 22.6% in Q4, buying 23,252 shares to own 126,232 shares worth $18,608,000 at the end of the period.
• Alibaba reported quarterly EPS of $0.13 and revenue of $40.71 billion, and analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $188.75.
• The stock opened at $141.48 (trading up ~7.0%), with a market cap of $339.42 billion, a P/E of 26.69, and a 52‑week range of $103.71 to $192.67.

Premier Fund Managers Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Free Report) by 22.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 126,232 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 23,252 shares during the quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd's holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $18,608,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ARK Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter worth $37,565,000. Great Hill Capital LLC acquired a new position in Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter worth $2,207,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 30,361 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $5,427,000 after acquiring an additional 3,929 shares during the period. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 553,384 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $98,906,000 after acquiring an additional 69,232 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 54,235 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $7,950,000 after acquiring an additional 5,760 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company's stock.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 7.0%

Shares of Alibaba Group stock opened at $141.48 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market cap of $339.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $132.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $150.76. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a fifty-two week low of $103.71 and a fifty-two week high of $192.67.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, February 14th. The specialty retailer reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $40.71 billion during the quarter. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 9.12%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BABA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Nomura boosted their price target on Alibaba Group from $193.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Alibaba Group from $225.00 to $212.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Alibaba Group from $174.00 to $164.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Alibaba Group from $215.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Alibaba Group from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $188.75.

About Alibaba Group

Alibaba Group Holding Limited is a Chinese multinational conglomerate founded in 1999 in Hangzhou, China, by Jack Ma and a group of co‑founders. The company built its business around internet-based commerce and related services and has grown into one of the largest e-commerce and technology companies in the world. Alibaba completed a high‑profile initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014.

The company operates a portfolio of online marketplaces and platforms serving different customer segments: Alibaba.com for global and domestic B2B trade, Taobao for consumer-to-consumer shopping, and Tmall for brand and retailer storefronts targeted at Chinese consumers.

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