Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading 1.7% Higher – Time to Buy?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) was up 1.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $87.54 and last traded at $86.59. Approximately 13,607,643 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 23% from the average daily volume of 17,635,047 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on BABA shares. Mizuho lifted their target price on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.07.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 1.7 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $207.18 billion, a PE ratio of 17.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $98.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.01.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BABA. Concord Wealth Partners grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 155.0% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC boosted its stake in Alibaba Group by 139.3% in the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 359 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.