IvyRock Asset Management HK Ltd Sells 8,900 Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited $BABA

IvyRock Asset Management HK Ltd cut its stake in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 3.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 237,800 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 8,900 shares during the period. Alibaba Group makes up 13.5% of IvyRock Asset Management HK Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. IvyRock Asset Management HK Ltd’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $25,573,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new position in Alibaba Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. GK Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Alibaba Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Latitude Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Alibaba Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Silver Grove Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 107.4% during the third quarter. Silver Grove Financial Group Inc. now owns 618 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Finally, S&G Foundation bought a new stake in Alibaba Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $77,000. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Recent Alibaba Group Headlines

Here are a few of the latest headlines about BABA:

• Positive Sentiment: DZ Bank upgraded Alibaba from “hold” to “buy” and set a $140 price target, signaling substantial potential upside from the reference price. DZ Bank rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Alibaba is pursuing a Hong Kong listing for semiconductor subsidiary T-Head. A separate listing could help showcase or fund its domestic chip business, though its prospects are complicated by the same U.S. chip-access concerns affecting the shares. Alibaba and Tencent shares fall on report of possible U.S. curbs
• Negative Sentiment: Additional scrutiny centers on reported links between Alibaba and Singapore-based Megaspeed International, an Nvidia partner. Allegations that financing through Singapore and Malaysia units was tied to acquiring Nvidia servers could heighten regulatory and reputational risks; the claims remain allegations. Report on Alibaba-Megaspeed financing links

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BABA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $164.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 21st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $190.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $192.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $183.53.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

Shares of BABA opened at $94.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $107.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $123.61. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 52-week low of $91.99 and a 52-week high of $181.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $235.03 billion, a PE ratio of 44.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.44.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The specialty retailer reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by ($0.68). The business had revenue of $39.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.52 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 4.79% and a net margin of 7.00%. Alibaba Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $14.75 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Hong Xu sold 103,046 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.68, for a total transaction of $1,409,669.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 406,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,560,236. This represents a 20.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Fang Jiang sold 885,272 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.55, for a total transaction of $11,995,435.60. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 4,679,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,401,764.35. This represents a 15.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 999,971 shares of company stock valued at $13,563,304. 12.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alibaba Group Company Profile

Alibaba Group Holding Limited is a technology and commerce company founded in 1999 and headquartered in Hangzhou, China. It operates digital platforms that connect consumers, merchants, businesses and other participants in commerce. Its businesses include China-focused marketplaces such as Taobao and Tmall, international platforms including AliExpress and Alibaba.com, and Alibaba Cloud, which provides cloud computing and related technology services. The group also has operations in areas such as logistics, local services and digital media.