Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Has $271,000 Position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,193 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BABA. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans bought a new position in Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter worth $321,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 16.5% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,338 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 7,734.1% during the 3rd 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. Nwam LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $307,000. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Alibaba Group by 60.1% during the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,496 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $689,000 after purchasing an additional 2,438 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on BABA shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $104.00 to $165.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alibaba Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

Alibaba Group stock opened at $132.65 on Wednesday. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 52-week low of $68.36 and a 52-week high of $148.43. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $118.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $315.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $38.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 12.89%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current fiscal 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.