Harbor Advisors LLC Purchases 1,500 Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Harbor Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 50.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the quarter. Harbor Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,829 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 3,134 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 3,123 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. TBH Global Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. TBH Global Asset Management LLC now owns 4,795 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $407,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 2,709 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BABA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Benchmark raised their price objective on Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Arete Research raised Alibaba Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $104.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:BABA opened at $135.16 on Friday. 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 $321.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.53, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $116.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.78.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.84 by ($0.07). Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 12.29%. The firm had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.19 billion. Equities analysts predict 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.