Headlands Technologies LLC Buys New Position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 40,776 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,936,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BABA. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 168.6% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 10,245 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $794,000 after purchasing an additional 6,431 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,785 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,068,000 after acquiring an additional 1,899 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 5,948 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $461,000 after acquiring an additional 804 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,651,000. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 5,753 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on BABA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Alibaba Group from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Alibaba Group from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $116.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Alibaba Group from $124.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Alibaba Group from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.61.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

Shares of BABA opened at $83.82 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market capitalization of $212.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.54, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $79.28 and a 200 day moving average of $77.03. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 12 month low of $66.63 and a 12 month high of $90.46.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The specialty retailer reported $16.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $14.57. The company had revenue of $243.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $248.32 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 7.31%. Alibaba Group’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Alibaba Group 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.