Millstone Evans Group LLC Purchases New Position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,047 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on BABA shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BABA opened at $135.16 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $321.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.53, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $116.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.66. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a one year low of $68.36 and a one year high of $148.43.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 12.89%. Research analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.