Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) Shares Sold by Platinum Investment Management Ltd.

Platinum Investment Management Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 86.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 28,845 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 177,873 shares during the quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $2,446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 225.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 397 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BABA opened at $142.67 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $113.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.73. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 12 month low of $68.36 and a 12 month high of $148.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $338.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.27.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.84 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $38.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 12.29%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BABA has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $104.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $144.07.

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.