Balentine LLC Invests $225,000 in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Balentine LLC acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,649 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 155,440 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $13,180,000 after acquiring an additional 27,088 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 131.2% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 74,807 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,343,000 after purchasing an additional 42,446 shares during the period. Generate Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $12,656,000. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 63.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 28,716 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,047,000 after buying an additional 11,192 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 7,734.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 269,805 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,632,000 after buying an additional 266,361 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price 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. StockNews.com lowered Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Mizuho increased their target price on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.86.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BABA opened at $111.48 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $88.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market cap of $265.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.61, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.31. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 12 month low of $68.36 and a 12 month high of $117.82.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $13.19. The business had revenue of $236.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.45 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. The company’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate 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.