Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) Short Interest Down 14.3% in December

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 37,520,000 shares, a decrease of 14.3% from the December 15th total of 43,800,000 shares. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 15,450,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

Shares of BABA stock traded up $2.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $85.16. 21,072,995 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,289,486. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market cap of $202.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.30. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $86.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.78. Alibaba Group has a twelve month low of $66.63 and a twelve month high of $117.82.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $13.19. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 12.28%. The firm had revenue of $236.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. Alibaba Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alibaba Group will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BABA. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors boosted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 3,123 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 6.0% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,152 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,825 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Wynn Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 13,013 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 4.3% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BABA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Mizuho increased their price target on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.13.

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.