Meridian Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,527 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FNY Managed Accounts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited during the first quarter worth about $107,000. Webster Bank N. A. boosted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited by 25.0% in the first quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 1,175 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. WFG Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited by 5.3% in the first quarter. WFG Advisors LP now owns 1,180 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Carroll Financial Associates Inc. boosted its position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited by 9.4% in the second quarter. Carroll Financial Associates Inc. now owns 930 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited by 81.0% in the second quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 950 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $134,000 after buying an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. 36.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) opened at 163.92 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $151.65 and its 200-day moving average is $124.10. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 12-month low of $86.01 and a 12-month high of $168.00. The stock has a market cap of $414.72 billion, a PE ratio of 64.87 and a beta of 2.64. Alibaba Group Holding Limited also was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 85,508 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 228% compared to the average volume of 26,062 put options.

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 17th. The specialty retailer reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $7.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.16 billion. Alibaba Group Holding Limited had a net margin of 27.51% and a return on equity of 15.40%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post $4.65 EPS for the current year.

Alibaba Group Holding Limited announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 18th that allows the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty retailer to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. J P Morgan Chase & Co upped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Vetr cut shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.06 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $139.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited in a report on Friday, June 9th. Finally, BidaskClub raised shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Alibaba Group Holding Limited presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $151.29.

About Alibaba Group Holding Limited

Alibaba Group Holding Limited is a holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the Company is engaged in online and mobile commerce through offering of products, services and technology that enable merchants, brands and other businesses to transform the way they market, sell and operate in the People’s Republic of China (China) and internationally.