Virtu Financial LLC Sells 115,151 Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Virtu Financial LLC decreased its position in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 85.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 115,151 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $1,656,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BABA. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 3,180.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,857,760 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $409,385,000 after purchasing an additional 3,740,150 shares in the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 64.1% during the third quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $936,785,000 after acquiring an additional 3,448,152 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 454.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,611,571 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $383,260,000 after acquiring an additional 2,959,954 shares during the period. Appaloosa LP increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 11,843,158 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,004,181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,843,158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aspex Management HK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the third quarter worth about $115,995,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Arete Research raised shares of Alibaba Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Barclays increased their target price on Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of Alibaba Group stock opened at $135.16 on Friday. The stock has a market cap 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. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 12-month low of $68.36 and a 12-month high of $148.43. The business’s 50 day moving average is $116.49 and its 200-day moving average is $100.78.

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