Verus Capital Partners LLC Invests $375,000 in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Verus Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,427 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $375,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 225.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 397 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $60,000. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Arete Research raised shares of Alibaba Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Alibaba Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Alibaba Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Alibaba Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $104.00 to $165.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $144.07.

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Alibaba Group Stock Up 8.7 %

Shares of NYSE BABA traded up $11.34 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $141.19. The company had a trading volume of 37,019,050 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,486,994. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 1-year low of $68.36 and a 1-year high of $145.30. 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 firm's 50 day moving average is $103.27 and its 200-day moving average is $96.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $335.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.31.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.84 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 12.89%. On average, analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.