Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC Purchases 811 Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 16.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,877 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 811 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BABA. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 322.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 15,029,238 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,303,636,000 after acquiring an additional 11,473,618 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 461.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,215,884 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $365,686,000 after purchasing an additional 3,464,723 shares during the last quarter. Blue Pool Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $151,726,000. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,610,078 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,007,058,000 after purchasing an additional 1,406,491 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 65.6% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,508,392 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $304,318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389,233 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on BABA. Susquehanna reduced their price target 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. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.91.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 2.6 %

NYSE BABA opened at $72.51 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 1.80. The company has a market capitalization of $183.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.38 and a beta of 0.47. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a one year low of $66.63 and a one year high of $102.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $73.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.57.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $18.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $19.12 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $260.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $260.26 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 10.75% and a return on equity of 12.65%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alibaba Group Company 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.