Premier Fund Managers Ltd Buys New Stake in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 65,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $5,528,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BABA. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 2.6 %

BABA stock opened at $135.69 on Friday. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 12 month low of $68.36 and a 12 month 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. The company has a market cap of $322.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $120.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $102.09.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 12.89%. The company had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.19 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BABA has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered Alibaba Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Arete Research upgraded shares of Alibaba Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.07.

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.