Sapient Capital LLC Takes $232,000 Position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,991 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BABA. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new position in Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 116.7% during the third quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 325 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BABA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Alibaba Group from $138.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.91.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

NYSE:BABA opened at $70.64 on Tuesday. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a one year low of $66.63 and a one year high of $102.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market cap of $179.25 billion, a PE ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $73.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.22.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $18.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $19.12 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $260.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $260.26 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 10.75% and a return on equity of 12.65%. Alibaba Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.44 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.97 EPS for the current fiscal 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.