PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 41,710 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,176 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $3,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 225.4% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 397 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 13.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:BABA opened at $138.41 on Friday. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 12 month low of $68.36 and a 12 month high of $145.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market capitalization of $328.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.00, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its 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). Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 12.29%. The business had revenue of $38.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.19 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BABA. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $104.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $144.07.

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.