Short Interest in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) Drops By 9.1%

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 50,230,000 shares, a drop of 9.1% from the November 15th total of 55,230,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 20,360,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 2.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BABA. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 5.2% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 21,870,987 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,574,711,000 after buying an additional 1,074,175 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 0.3% in the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 18,460,434 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,959,021,000 after acquiring an additional 60,667 shares in the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 64.1% in the third quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $936,785,000 after acquiring an additional 3,448,152 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 1,392.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,125,542 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $650,043,000 after acquiring an additional 5,715,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 3,180.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,857,760 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $409,385,000 after acquiring an additional 3,740,150 shares in the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Macquarie upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.07.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

BABA traded down $1.41 on Friday, reaching $87.82. The company had a trading volume of 11,608,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,470,092. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.39. The company has a market cap of $209.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. Alibaba Group has a 52-week low of $66.63 and a 52-week high of $117.82.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $13.19. The firm had revenue of $236.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.45 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 12.28%. The business’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group will post 8.44 EPS for the current year.

Alibaba Group Company 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.