Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) Short Interest Up 18.3% in January

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 49,370,000 shares, a growth of 18.3% from the January 15th total of 41,720,000 shares. Approximately 2.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 18,490,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Concord Wealth Partners grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 155.0% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 225.4% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 397 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Alibaba Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.86.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 4.3 %

BABA stock opened at $124.73 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $91.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.11. The firm has a market cap of $296.71 billion, a PE ratio of 25.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.31. Alibaba Group has a fifty-two week low of $68.36 and a fifty-two week high of $126.80.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $13.19. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. The business had revenue of $236.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.45 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alibaba Group Company 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.