Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Trims Position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 33.7% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,537 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,800 shares during the quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BABA. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,785 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,068,000 after buying an additional 1,899 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,651,000. Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,726 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $329,367,000. Finally, Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $320,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

Shares of BABA stock opened at $84.70 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.41. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a fifty-two week low of $66.63 and a fifty-two week high of $90.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $80.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.35. The company has a market capitalization of $214.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.74, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 0.33.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The specialty retailer reported $16.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $14.57. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 7.31%. The firm had revenue of $243.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $248.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.47 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on BABA. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Alibaba Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, August 16th. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price objective on Alibaba Group from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alibaba Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.61.

Alibaba Group 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.