Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) Position Lowered by Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.

Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. reduced its position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,340 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,669 shares during the quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $2,403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 225.4% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 397 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on BABA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley raised Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $100.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Arete Research raised Alibaba Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BABA opened at $147.56 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $111.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.32. The company has a market capitalization of $350.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.32, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a twelve month low of $68.36 and a twelve month high of $148.75.

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