Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) Shares Sold by Sit Investment Associates Inc.

Sit Investment Associates Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 44.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,075 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 875 shares during the quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $91,000 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. Hel Ved Capital Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,010,000. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at $1,357,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,249 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $700,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 10,660 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $904,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,602 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America raised their price objective on Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $148.14.

Alibaba Group Trading Down 9.1 %

Shares of BABA opened at $105.92 on Tuesday. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a one year low of $68.36 and a one year high of $148.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $126.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company has a market capitalization of $251.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24.

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 business had revenue of $38.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 12.89%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 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.