LM Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

LM Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 10,079 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $855,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 3,180.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,857,760 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $409,385,000 after acquiring an additional 3,740,150 shares in the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 64.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $936,785,000 after purchasing an additional 3,448,152 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 454.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,611,571 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $383,260,000 after buying an additional 2,959,954 shares during the period. Appaloosa LP grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 18.4% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Aspex Management HK Ltd acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $115,995,000. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BABA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com cut shares of Alibaba Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $104.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America upped their target price on Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Alibaba Group stock opened at $132.23 on Thursday. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 52-week low of $68.36 and a 52-week high of $148.43. The stock has a market cap of $314.18 billion, a PE ratio of 19.11, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $119.59 and a 200-day moving average of $101.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by ($0.07). Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 12.29%. The business had revenue of $38.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.19 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current 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.