Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) is Ruffer LLP’s 6th Largest Position

Ruffer LLP cut its position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 38.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,609,404 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,021,435 shares during the quarter. Alibaba Group comprises 4.9% of Ruffer LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Ruffer LLP’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $136,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BABA. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 225.4% during the third 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth $55,000. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 0.5 %

Alibaba Group stock opened at $140.59 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $334.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $105.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.81. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 52 week low of $68.36 and a 52 week high of $145.36.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its 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 net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 12.89%. On average, analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BABA. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alibaba Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.07.

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.