Avitas Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Avitas Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 9,892 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $839,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BABA. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 155,440 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $13,180,000 after buying an additional 27,088 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Alibaba Group by 131.2% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 74,807 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,343,000 after acquiring an additional 42,446 shares in the last quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group in the third quarter worth $12,656,000. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 63.9% in the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 28,716 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,047,000 after purchasing an additional 11,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 7,734.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 269,805 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,632,000 after purchasing an additional 266,361 shares in the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on BABA shares. Mizuho raised their target price on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays lowered their target price on Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America increased their target price on Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.13.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 3.8 %

Shares of BABA stock opened at $102.37 on Wednesday. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 52-week low of $68.36 and a 52-week high of $117.82. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.07. 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 company has a market capitalization of $243.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.77, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.31.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its quarterly 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. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. The company had revenue of $236.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.45 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. Alibaba Group’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 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.