Fmr LLC Sells 2,341,389 Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

FMR LLC lowered its stake in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Free Report) by 64.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,270,182 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 2,341,389 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned 0.05% of Alibaba Group worth $107,699,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Appaloosa LP boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 11,843,158 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,004,181,000 after buying an additional 1,843,158 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $585,479,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,093,828 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $431,906,000 after buying an additional 78,757 shares during the last quarter. North of South Capital LLP increased its position in Alibaba Group by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. North of South Capital LLP now owns 1,975,760 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $167,525,000 after buying an additional 300,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,507,591 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $127,829,000 after buying an additional 72,140 shares during the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Alibaba Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $104.00 to $165.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $150.36.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

BABA stock traded up $2.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $109.03. 17,805,254 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,607,737. The stock's 50-day moving average is $127.14 and its 200 day moving average is $104.77. The stock has a market cap of $260.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.76, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 52-week low of $68.36 and a 52-week 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.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.84 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $38.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 12.89%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS 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.