Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Acquires 11,972 Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 227,135 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 11,972 shares during the period. Alibaba Group makes up 2.7% of Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $17,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BABA. Sanders Capital LLC increased its position in Alibaba Group by 322.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 15,029,238 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,303,636,000 after buying an additional 11,473,618 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 461.2% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,215,884 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $365,686,000 after purchasing an additional 3,464,723 shares during the period. Blue Pool Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth about $151,726,000. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 13.8% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,610,078 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,007,058,000 after acquiring an additional 1,406,491 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 65.6% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,508,392 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $304,318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389,233 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BABA traded up $1.82 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $72.51. The stock had a trading volume of 15,229,294 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,130,295. The company has a market capitalization of $183.98 billion, a PE ratio of 13.38 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.57. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 1 year low of $66.63 and a 1 year high of $102.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $18.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $19.12 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $260.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $260.26 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 10.75% and a return on equity of 12.65%. The business’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Alibaba Group from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays lowered their price target on Alibaba Group from $138.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Alibaba Group from $121.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.91.

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.