80,210 Shares in Alibaba Group Holding Limited $BABA Acquired by OPTIMAS CAPITAL Ltd

OPTIMAS CAPITAL Ltd purchased a new position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 80,210 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $8,626,000. Alibaba Group makes up about 11.5% of OPTIMAS CAPITAL Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Alibaba Group in the second quarter worth $28,000. GK Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Alibaba Group in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Latitude Advisors LLC bought a new position in Alibaba Group in the third quarter valued at $43,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group during the first quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in Alibaba Group by 28.2% during the first quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of BABA stock traded up $1.17 on Friday, hitting $109.24. 9,546,798 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,576,816. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a one year low of $91.99 and a one year high of $181.10. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $108.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $125.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $271.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.44.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The specialty retailer reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.94 by ($0.68). The business had revenue of $39.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.52 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 4.79% and a net margin of 7.00%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $14.75 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 5.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on BABA. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Monday, September 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on Alibaba Group from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Piper Sandler cut Alibaba Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $192.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.89.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Hong Xu sold 103,046 shares of Alibaba Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.68, for a total value of $1,409,669.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 406,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,560,236. The trade was a 20.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Yongming Wu bought 350,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $14.24 per share, with a total value of $4,984,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 1,364,418 shares in the company, valued at $19,429,312.32. The trade was a 34.50% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 999,971 shares of company stock valued at $13,563,304. Company insiders own 12.50% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Company Profile

Alibaba Group Holding Limited is a technology and commerce company founded in 1999 and headquartered in Hangzhou, China. It operates digital platforms that connect consumers, merchants, businesses and other participants in commerce.

Its businesses include China-focused marketplaces such as Taobao and Tmall, international platforms including AliExpress and Alibaba.com, and Alibaba Cloud, which provides cloud computing and related technology services. The group also has operations in areas such as logistics, local services and digital media.

Alibaba serves customers and businesses in China and across international markets.