Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) Short Interest Update

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 37,520,000 shares, a decrease of 14.3% from the December 15th total of 43,800,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 15,450,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Concord Wealth Partners grew its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 155.0% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Alibaba Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 225.4% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 397 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE BABA traded up $2.73 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $85.16. The stock had a trading volume of 21,072,995 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,020,852. The company has a market cap of $202.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.27, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business’s 50 day moving average is $86.24 and its 200-day moving average is $87.59. Alibaba Group has a 52 week low of $66.63 and a 52 week high of $117.82.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $13.19. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. The business had revenue of $236.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.45 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Alibaba Group will post 8.44 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BABA. Mizuho lifted 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. Macquarie upgraded Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup raised their target price on Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.13.

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.