Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Increases Stake in Alibaba Group Holding Limited $BABA

Key Points

• Thornburg Investment Management raised its stake in Alibaba by 14.3%, adding 69,232 shares to hold 553,384 shares worth about $98.9 million, making BABA ~1.3% of its portfolio and its 19th largest holding.
• Other institutional activity included new or larger positions from firms such as Oriental Harbor (≈$39.5 million) and NTV Asset Management (+127.4%), with institutions and hedge funds owning about 13.47% of the stock.
• Analysts' consensus is a Moderate Buy with a $195.17 price target, despite a recent EPS miss and revenue shortfall; shares trade around $152 with a one‑year range of $95.73–$192.67.

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Free Report) by 14.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 553,384 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 69,232 shares during the quarter. Alibaba Group comprises about 1.3% of Thornburg Investment Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Thornburg Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $98,906,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. NTV Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 127.4% in the third quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 15,143 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,707,000 after purchasing an additional 8,484 shares during the last quarter. Marex Group plc purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $17,139,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 197.0% in the 2nd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 34,225 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,881,000 after acquiring an additional 22,701 shares during the last quarter. RD Finance Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 2nd quarter worth $3,408,000. Finally, Oriental Harbor Investment Master Fund purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter worth $39,500,000. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BABA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Macquarie Infrastructure restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Alibaba Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Alibaba Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Alibaba Group from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Alibaba Group from $231.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $195.17.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

Shares of BABA stock opened at $152.31 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.46. The firm has a market cap of $363.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.39. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $159.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $157.18. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a one year low of $95.73 and a one year high of $192.67.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 25th. The specialty retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.05). Alibaba Group had a net margin of 12.38% and a return on equity of 10.51%. The firm had revenue of $34.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.15 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current year.

Alibaba Group Profile

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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