Prentice Capital Management LP Makes New $531,000 Investment in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Prentice Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 5,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $531,000. Alibaba Group accounts for 1.2% of Prentice Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BABA. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 139.3% during the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 359 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Concord Wealth Partners grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 155.0% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BABA shares. StockNews.com raised Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Alibaba Group from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alibaba Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.07.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BABA opened at $85.68 on Wednesday. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a fifty-two week low of $66.63 and a fifty-two week high of $117.82. The company has a market cap of $205.01 billion, a PE ratio of 17.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $98.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.09.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $13.19. The company had revenue of $236.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.45 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 12.28%. Alibaba Group’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.44 EPS 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.