Liberty One Investment Management LLC Sells 1,312 Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Liberty One Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 14.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,672 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,312 shares during the period. Liberty One Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $651,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Generate Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $12,656,000. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its holdings in Alibaba Group by 63.9% during the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 28,716 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,047,000 after acquiring an additional 11,192 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 6.5% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 822,904 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $87,327,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 7,734.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 269,805 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,632,000 after purchasing an additional 266,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aspex Management HK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $115,995,000. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on BABA. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Citigroup lifted their price objective 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. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com cut Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.13.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 3.3 %

BABA opened at $85.16 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $86.06 and a 200-day moving average of $87.68. The company has a market capitalization of $202.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.30. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a fifty-two week low of $66.63 and a fifty-two week high of $117.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $13.19. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 12.28%. The business had revenue of $236.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.44 EPS for the current year.

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.