Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) Shares Sold by Ballast Advisors LLC

Ballast Advisors LLC reduced its position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 21.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,002 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,955 shares during the period. Ballast Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $543,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sierra Capital LLC acquired a new position in Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth $227,000. Strs Ohio grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 484,827 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $37,578,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares during the period. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Delphi Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Alibaba Group by 75.2% during the fourth quarter. Delphi Financial Group Inc. now owns 82,526 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,397,000 after buying an additional 35,411 shares during the period. Finally, Viewpoint Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth about $203,000. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on BABA shares. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $150.00 to $135.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $121.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.91.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

Alibaba Group stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $71.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,997,007 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,344,006. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a fifty-two week low of $66.63 and a fifty-two week high of $102.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 1.80. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.97 billion, a PE ratio of 13.15 and a beta of 0.46.

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