Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. grew its position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 17.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,882 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,195 shares during the period. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BABA. Clarius Group LLC purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group in the third quarter valued at about $200,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in Alibaba Group by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 54,936 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,765,000 after purchasing an additional 3,084 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 384,537 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $33,355,000 after purchasing an additional 20,326 shares in the last quarter. Mandatum Life Insurance Co Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 8.9% in the third quarter. Mandatum Life Insurance Co Ltd now owns 3,949 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 8.2% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 12,896 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,119,000 after buying an additional 979 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

NYSE:BABA opened at $74.86 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $189.94 billion, a PE ratio of 13.81 and a beta of 0.46. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 52 week low of $66.63 and a 52 week high of $102.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $73.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.21.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted 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 net margin of 10.75% and a return on equity of 12.65%. The business had revenue of $260.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $260.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.44 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BABA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Alibaba Group from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Macquarie lowered shares of Alibaba Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $88.50 to $85.40 in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $121.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.91.

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.