Deutsche Bank AG Purchases 70,221 Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 20.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 417,289 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 70,221 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $35,382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Mizuho upgraded shares of Alibaba Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Alibaba Group from $170.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $150.36.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:BABA opened at $131.70 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $314.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 12 month low of $71.80 and a 12 month high of $148.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $124.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.70.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted 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 company had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 research analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current 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.