Wedbush Securities Inc. Purchases 355 Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 5.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,443 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BABA. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Alibaba Group during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Asset Dedication LLC grew its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 315.0% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 527 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on BABA. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $116.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, July 26th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Alibaba Group from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Alibaba Group from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Alibaba Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.61.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

BABA opened at $85.51 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $79.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.14. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a twelve month low of $66.63 and a twelve month high of $90.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market capitalization of $216.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.93, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.33.

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