Sterling Investment Management LLC Invests $287,000 in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Sterling Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,702 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $287,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,610,078 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,007,058,000 after acquiring an additional 1,406,491 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC increased its position in Alibaba Group by 322.7% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 15,029,238 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,303,636,000 after purchasing an additional 11,473,618 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 27.1% during the third quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 14,275 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,238,000 after purchasing an additional 3,040 shares during the period. Certuity LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 122.2% in the 3rd quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 113,704 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $9,863,000 after purchasing an additional 62,543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd grew its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd now owns 730,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $63,320,000 after buying an additional 120,000 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BABA. Benchmark reduced their target price on Alibaba Group from $150.00 to $128.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Macquarie downgraded shares of Alibaba Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $88.50 to $85.40 in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $121.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.44.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

Shares of BABA opened at $71.60 on Thursday. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 52-week low of $66.63 and a 52-week high of $105.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market cap of $181.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.21 and a beta of 0.47. The business’s 50 day moving average is $73.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.64.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $18.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $19.12 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $260.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $260.26 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 10.75% and a return on equity of 12.65%. The company’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.97 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.