Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) Shares Purchased by Arete Wealth Advisors LLC

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 8,249 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $700,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BABA. World Investment Advisors boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 10,660 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $904,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,602 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Diametric Capital LP increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 47.7% in the fourth quarter. Diametric Capital LP now owns 7,830 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $664,000 after acquiring an additional 2,530 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 488,356 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $41,408,000 after purchasing an additional 10,057 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC lifted its position in Alibaba Group by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 6,275 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $532,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on BABA. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $104.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. 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 MarketBeat, Alibaba Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.14.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

NYSE:BABA opened at $116.56 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $125.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $103.96. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 12 month low of $68.36 and a 12 month high of $148.43. The firm has a market cap of $276.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted 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). Alibaba Group had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 12.89%. The firm had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.19 billion. On average, analysts expect 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.