Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) Short Interest Down 9.2% in October

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 62,560,000 shares, a decline of 9.2% from the October 15th total of 68,870,000 shares. Approximately 2.6% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 20,030,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Alibaba Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Macquarie upgraded 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. Mizuho increased their target price on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.53.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BABA. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in Alibaba Group by 462.5% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 169,220 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $12,275,000 after purchasing an additional 139,134 shares in the last quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $12,656,000. SRN Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 76.7% in the 1st quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 22,259 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,611,000 after purchasing an additional 9,663 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its position in Alibaba Group by 63.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 28,716 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,047,000 after buying an additional 11,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 822,904 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $87,327,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE BABA traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $89.37. The stock had a trading volume of 13,482,414 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,669,006. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $98.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.77. Alibaba Group has a 1 year low of $66.63 and a 1 year high of $117.82. The firm has a market cap of $213.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.41.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $13.19. The company had revenue of $236.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.45 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 7.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group will post 8.51 EPS 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.