ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC Purchases New Shares in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 11,900 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $922,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of BABA. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 116.7% in the 3rd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 325 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 184.6% in the 4th quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 333 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the third quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BABA. Macquarie cut Alibaba Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $88.50 to $85.40 in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Alibaba Group from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Alibaba Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $112.91.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of BABA stock traded up $1.00 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $81.33. 19,355,807 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,275,838. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 12-month low of $66.63 and a 12-month high of $102.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.01 and a beta of 0.44. The company's 50-day moving average price is $73.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.11.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $18.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $19.12 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $260.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $260.26 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.65% and a net margin of 10.75%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.54 earnings per share 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.