Short Interest in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) Decreases By 9.2%

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 62,560,000 shares, a decline of 9.2% from the October 15th total of 68,870,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 20,030,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days. Currently, 2.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BABA. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Alibaba Group from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. 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 research note on Thursday, October 24th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.53.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Alibaba Group by 1,392.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,125,542 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $650,043,000 after purchasing an additional 5,715,155 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 3,180.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,857,760 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $409,385,000 after acquiring an additional 3,740,150 shares during the period. Hhlr Advisors LTD. boosted its stake in Alibaba Group by 64.1% during the third quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $936,785,000 after acquiring an additional 3,448,152 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 454.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,611,571 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $383,260,000 after purchasing an additional 2,959,954 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 9,205.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,697,358 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,801,240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,679,117 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:BABA traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $89.37. 13,482,414 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,669,006. The firm has a market capitalization of $213.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.13, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 0.35. Alibaba Group has a twelve month low of $66.63 and a twelve month high of $117.82. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $98.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.41.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $236.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.45 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 7.31%. The business’s quarterly 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. On average, research analysts predict that Alibaba Group will post 8.51 EPS 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.