Baird Financial Group Inc. Purchases 12,525 Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 390,233 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,525 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $33,088,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Appaloosa LP grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 11,843,158 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,004,181,000 after buying an additional 1,843,158 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter valued at $585,479,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Alibaba Group by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,676,773 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $566,124,000 after purchasing an additional 438,537 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Alibaba Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,093,828 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $431,906,000 after purchasing an additional 78,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 3,978,977 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $337,377,000 after purchasing an additional 44,901 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

Shares of BABA opened at $126.55 on Tuesday. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 12 month low of $71.80 and a 12 month high of $148.43. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $124.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.53. 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 has a market cap of $302.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 12.29%. Research analysts anticipate 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 a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays lifted their price target on Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Arete Research upgraded shares of Alibaba Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $150.36.

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.