Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) Shares Sold by CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lessened its stake in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 260,343 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 5,901 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $22,063,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 155,440 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $13,180,000 after purchasing an additional 27,088 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at $911,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in Alibaba Group by 131.2% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 74,807 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,343,000 after buying an additional 42,446 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. increased its holdings in Alibaba Group by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 10,245 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $869,000 after buying an additional 3,242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 31.3% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 18,465 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,566,000 after acquiring an additional 4,397 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BABA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised 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. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Alibaba Group from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Arete Research raised shares of Alibaba Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.36.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of BABA opened at $109.03 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $127.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market capitalization of $260.55 billion, a PE ratio of 15.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 52-week low of $69.12 and a 52-week high of $148.43.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $38.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 12.29%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current year.

Alibaba Group Profile

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.