Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,973 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 721 shares during the quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BABA. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 30,414 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,201,000 after buying an additional 3,305 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake in Alibaba Group by 1.5% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 87,022 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,297,000 after acquiring an additional 1,269 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 53.2% during the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 28,517 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,063,000 after purchasing an additional 9,899 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 9.8% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 185,112 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $13,582,000 after purchasing an additional 16,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $312,000. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

Shares of BABA opened at $88.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $212.07 billion, a PE ratio of 23.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.35. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 52-week low of $66.63 and a 52-week high of $117.82. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $98.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The specialty retailer reported $16.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $14.57. The company had revenue of $243.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $248.32 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 12.08%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.47 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on BABA shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Alibaba Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $107.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday. Finally, Macquarie upgraded Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alibaba Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.53.

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.