Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 67,990,000 shares, a growth of 8.4% from the September 15th total of 62,720,000 shares. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 18,440,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Alibaba Group Trading Down 2.1 %

Alibaba Group stock traded down $2.11 during trading on Thursday, reaching $100.06. The company had a trading volume of 15,772,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,916,445. Alibaba Group has a 12-month low of $66.63 and a 12-month high of $117.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $91.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $253.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.30, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.35.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The specialty retailer reported $16.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $14.57. The firm had revenue of $243.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $248.32 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 7.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alibaba Group will post 7.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BABA. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $116.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Alibaba Group from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.63.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its position in Alibaba Group by 5.2% during the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 21,870,987 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,574,711,000 after buying an additional 1,074,175 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 39.2% in the 1st quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 3,582,005 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $259,194,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009,397 shares during the period. Discerene Group LP lifted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Discerene Group LP now owns 3,021,375 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $218,627,000 after acquiring an additional 529,237 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,789,883 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $296,062,000 after purchasing an additional 178,999 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Alibaba Group by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,181,498 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $169,088,000 after purchasing an additional 25,054 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

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.