Commerce Bank Trims Stock Position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Commerce Bank lowered its position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,186 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 265 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 155,440 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $13,180,000 after buying an additional 27,088 shares during the period. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA purchased a new position in Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $911,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 131.2% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 74,807 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,343,000 after purchasing an additional 42,446 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 46.3% in the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 10,245 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $869,000 after purchasing an additional 3,242 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 31.3% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 18,465 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,566,000 after purchasing an additional 4,397 shares in the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on BABA shares. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $104.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays increased their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $150.36.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 0.2 %

Alibaba Group stock opened at $119.16 on Friday. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 52 week low of $71.80 and a 52 week high of $148.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $126.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market capitalization of $284.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.84 by ($0.07). Alibaba Group had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 12.89%. The business had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.19 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current year.

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.