Sterling Investment Management LLC Acquires Shares of 3,702 Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Sterling Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 3,702 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $287,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sanders Capital LLC grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 322.7% in the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 15,029,238 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,303,636,000 after purchasing an additional 11,473,618 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Alibaba Group by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,815,514 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,128,919,000 after buying an additional 142,563 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 461.2% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,215,884 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $365,686,000 after buying an additional 3,464,723 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 108,264.6% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,711,488 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $326,945,000 after acquiring an additional 3,708,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,611,817 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $301,044,000 after purchasing an additional 310,713 shares during the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 0.2 %

BABA opened at $71.60 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.21 and a beta of 0.47. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 1-year low of $66.63 and a 1-year high of $105.05.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $18.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $19.12 by ($0.15). Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.65% and a net margin of 10.75%. The company had revenue of $260.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $260.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.44 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on BABA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Alibaba Group from $121.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $150.00 to $135.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Alibaba Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Macquarie downgraded shares of Alibaba Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $88.50 to $85.40 in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.44.

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.