Two Sigma Securities LLC Boosts Stock Position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Two Sigma Securities LLC grew its holdings in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Free Report) by 79.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,342 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 9,902 shares during the period. Two Sigma Securities LLC's holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $1,894,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BABA. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth $585,479,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 208.5% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,995,640 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $254,000,000 after buying an additional 2,024,640 shares during the period. Appaloosa LP raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 92.7% in the fourth 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. Finally, WT Asset Management Ltd grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 364.4% during the 4th quarter. WT Asset Management Ltd now owns 634,200 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $53,774,000 after acquiring an additional 497,623 shares in the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BABA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target 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. Arete Research raised Alibaba Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Benchmark lifted their price target on Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley upgraded Alibaba Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Alibaba Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $150.36.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 0.2 %

Alibaba Group stock opened at $119.16 on Friday. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a fifty-two week low of $71.80 and a fifty-two week high of $148.43. The company has a market cap of $284.76 billion, a PE ratio of 17.22, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $126.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $104.78.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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). Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 12.29%. The business had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.19 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current 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.

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