Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Up 0.6% – Here’s What Happened

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s share price shot up 0.6% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $85.43 and last traded at $85.28. 3,762,906 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 17,251,066 shares. The stock had previously closed at $84.79.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Macquarie upgraded Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Mizuho raised their target price on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Two research 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, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 0.7 %

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $89.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $204.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.30.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth $82,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 2,425 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 6.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 52,563 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,578,000 after buying an additional 3,046 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 41.7% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 29,534 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,203,000 after acquiring an additional 8,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group in the third quarter worth about $124,000. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alibaba Group Company Profile

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.