Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Lowers Holdings in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd decreased its holdings in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 17.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 137,846 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 29,003 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $11,685,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 225.4% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 397 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

Shares of Alibaba Group stock opened at $142.67 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $113.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $338.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.62, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.27. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 12 month low of $68.36 and a 12 month high of $148.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BABA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $104.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $144.07.

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.