2,739 Shares in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) Bought by Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management bought a new stake in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,739 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BABA. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 52,363 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,770,000 after acquiring an additional 5,924 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alibaba Group by 28.4% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,633 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its position in Alibaba Group by 2.4% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 281,504 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $20,268,000 after purchasing an additional 6,671 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the second quarter worth about $3,451,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 6.2 %

Shares of NYSE BABA opened at $102.76 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $244.75 billion, a PE ratio of 20.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.30. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $85.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.52. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 12-month low of $68.36 and a 12-month high of $117.82.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company 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 business posted $1.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Macquarie raised Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.13.

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.