Renaissance Technologies LLC Acquires 2,024,640 Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Free Report) by 208.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,995,640 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 2,024,640 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Alibaba Group worth $254,000,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BABA. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $585,479,000. Appaloosa LP boosted its stake in Alibaba Group by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 11,843,158 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,004,181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,843,158 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 92.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,147,636 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $97,308,000 after acquiring an additional 552,010 shares during the period. WT Asset Management Ltd raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 364.4% during the 4th quarter. WT Asset Management Ltd now owns 634,200 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $53,774,000 after acquiring an additional 497,623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at $42,175,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company's stock.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of Alibaba Group stock traded up $3.71 on Friday, hitting $107.89. 40,432,552 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,525,656. The company has a market capitalization of $256.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a fifty day moving average of $126.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a one year low of $68.36 and a one year high of $148.43.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 12.89%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BABA. Arete Research upgraded Alibaba Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Alibaba Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $104.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" 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 upped their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $150.36.

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.