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

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 50,230,000 shares, a decline of 9.1% from the November 15th total of 55,230,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 20,360,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days. Currently, 2.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alibaba Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of Alibaba Group stock traded down $1.41 during trading on Friday, reaching $87.82. 11,608,633 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,470,092. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37. Alibaba Group has a 1-year low of $66.63 and a 1-year high of $117.82. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $94.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $209.87 billion, a PE ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.30.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $13.19. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 12.28%. The company had revenue of $236.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. Alibaba Group’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alibaba Group will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BABA. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Alibaba Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Concord Wealth Partners grew its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 155.0% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, 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. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

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.