Cibc World Markets Corp Purchases 4,280 Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 20.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,730 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,280 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $2,097,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $321,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 5.7% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 37,149 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,942,000 after purchasing an additional 1,987 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,107,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $4,551,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 16.5% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,338 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $460,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BABA. Barclays raised their target price on Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley upgraded Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $100.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target 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 increased their price target on Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Fifteen equities research 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

NYSE:BABA opened at $135.16 on Friday. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.66. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 1 year low of $68.36 and a 1 year high of $148.43. The company has a market capitalization of $321.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.27.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.84 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 12.89%. On average, analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current 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.