Amundi Buys 287,127 Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Amundi increased its stake in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 80.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 646,058 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 287,127 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $54,069,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BABA. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 155,440 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $13,180,000 after purchasing an additional 27,088 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth $911,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 131.2% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 74,807 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,343,000 after purchasing an additional 42,446 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 46.3% during the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 10,245 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $869,000 after purchasing an additional 3,242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 7,734.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 269,805 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,632,000 after purchasing an additional 266,361 shares during the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BABA shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Arete Research upgraded Alibaba Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $104.00 to $165.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Fifteen 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

BABA opened at $139.21 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $107.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.63. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 1 year low of $68.36 and a 1 year high of $145.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $330.76 billion, a PE ratio of 20.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.84 by ($0.07). Alibaba Group had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 12.89%. The company had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.19 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.