398,865 Shares in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) Bought by Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd

Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 398,865 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $33,820,000. Alibaba Group makes up about 2.1% of Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 6.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 52,563 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,578,000 after acquiring an additional 3,046 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $321,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 37,149 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,942,000 after acquiring an additional 1,987 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,107,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 2.0% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 42,886 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,551,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on BABA shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

Shares of Alibaba Group stock opened at $143.29 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $340.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $114.33 and its 200 day moving average is $100.04. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 1 year low of $68.36 and a 1 year high of $148.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 12.29%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alibaba Group Profile

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.