QV Investors Inc. Acquires 49,270 Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited $BABA

QV Investors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 66.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 123,617 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,270 shares during the period. QV Investors Inc.’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $13,294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 83.7% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 24,296 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,613,000 after purchasing an additional 11,071 shares during the period. OceanIQ Capital LLC grew its position in Alibaba Group by 2.3% during the third quarter. OceanIQ Capital LLC now owns 53,656 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,948,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Alibaba Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $303,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,360,000. Finally, Eagle Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BABA shares. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Monday, September 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $192.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Alibaba Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.89.

Alibaba Group News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alibaba Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alibaba reportedly backed a $400 million fundraising round for Neolix, supporting the expansion of driverless delivery vehicles. The investment could strengthen Alibaba’s logistics, autonomous-driving and AI ecosystem. Alibaba Reportedly Backs Neolix Raise $400 Million for Driverless Delivery Expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Alibaba’s RISC-V intellectual property has reportedly powered more than 6 billion shipped chips, highlighting potential long-term opportunities in AI, automotive and other embedded-computing markets. Alibaba’s RISC-V IP powers over 6 billion shipped chips as tech giant targets AI, autos
• Positive Sentiment: Alibaba is deploying Tutu robot dogs with Sands China through its Amap platform at Macau resorts. The project broadens monetization of Alibaba’s embodied AI and spatial-intelligence technology beyond e-commerce. Alibaba Brings Tutu Robot Dogs To Macau Resorts In Hospitality AI Push
• Positive Sentiment: AliExpress launched an invitation-only free membership program across major European markets, potentially improving customer retention, engagement and cross-border sales. AliExpress launches first free membership programme in Europe
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Alibaba, ByteDance and Tencent sought roughly $35 billion of Nvidia RTX PRO 5500 chips signal strong Chinese demand for AI infrastructure, but Nvidia may fulfill only 5% to 10% of orders amid production limits and U.S. export restrictions. ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent order $35 billion of Nvidia chips
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and commentators are questioning whether Alibaba’s AI infrastructure investments can generate adequate returns. Concerns are more significant after the stock’s prior rally, with valuation now requiring stronger earnings growth to justify further gains. Can Alibaba Cover the AI Bill? Alibaba Stock Could Be Reasonable After Its 44% Run

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Fang Jiang sold 885,272 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.55, for a total value of $11,995,435.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,679,097 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,401,764.35. This trade represents a 15.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Hong Xu sold 103,046 shares of Alibaba Group stock in a transaction on Friday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.68, for a total transaction of $1,409,669.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 406,450 shares in the company, valued at $5,560,236. This trade represents a 20.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 999,971 shares of company stock worth $13,563,304 in the last ninety days. 12.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Alibaba Group stock opened at $108.77 on Wednesday. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 12-month low of $91.99 and a 12-month high of $182.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $113.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $118.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $270.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.34, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.47.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 14th. The specialty retailer reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by ($0.68). Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 4.79% and a net margin of 7.00%. The firm had revenue of $39.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $14.75 earnings per share. Alibaba Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 5.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Alibaba Group Profile

Alibaba Group Holding Limited is a technology and commerce company founded in 1999 and headquartered in Hangzhou, China. It operates a broad digital ecosystem that connects consumers, merchants, brands and businesses through online marketplaces, technology platforms and related services.

The company’s China commerce businesses include Taobao, a consumer-focused marketplace, and Tmall, which enables brands and retailers to sell directly to consumers. Alibaba also operates 1688, a business-to-business wholesale marketplace.