Aspex Management HK Ltd Makes New Investment in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Aspex Management HK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,093,054 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $115,995,000. Alibaba Group makes up approximately 3.1% of Aspex Management HK Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC grew its position in Alibaba Group by 139.3% during the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 359 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Alibaba Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 155.0% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the third quarter worth $36,000. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com raised Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Macquarie upgraded Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

Shares of BABA stock opened at $87.37 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $209.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 0.35. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a one year low of $66.63 and a one year high of $117.82. The company’s 50-day moving average is $98.45 and its 200 day moving average is $86.11.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $13.19. The business had revenue of $236.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.45 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.44 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.