Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) Short Interest Up 9.1% in July

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 54,810,000 shares, a growth of 9.1% from the June 30th total of 50,240,000 shares. Approximately 2.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 15,750,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Alibaba Group from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Alibaba Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Alibaba Group from $124.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Alibaba Group from $113.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Alibaba Group from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 154.1% during the 1st quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 55,229 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,052,000 after acquiring an additional 33,490 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 992,784 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $76,951,000 after buying an additional 21,228 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 462.5% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 169,220 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $12,275,000 after buying an additional 139,134 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 299.9% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 82,888 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,428,000 after buying an additional 62,163 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 52,685.7% in the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 11,085 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $813,000 after buying an additional 11,064 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

BABA traded down $0.82 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $77.80. 5,490,241 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,895,063. The stock has a market capitalization of $197.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $76.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.25. Alibaba Group has a 52-week low of $66.63 and a 52-week high of $102.50.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 14th. The specialty retailer reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.13. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 12.70%. The firm had revenue of $30.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.59 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Alibaba Group will post 6.96 EPS for the current year.

Alibaba Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a None dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 13th were given a dividend of $1.66 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 13th. Alibaba Group’s payout ratio is 22.84%.

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.