Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Up 1.4% – Should You Buy?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shares shot up 1.4% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $126.80 and last traded at $121.18. 27,143,777 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 12% from the average session volume of 24,300,139 shares. The stock had previously closed at $119.54.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on BABA. Mizuho upped their price target on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com lowered Alibaba Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Barclays reduced their price target on Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alibaba Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.86.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 4.3 %

The business’s 50 day moving average is $91.25 and its 200 day moving average is $91.02. The company has a market cap of $296.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $13.19. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. The firm had revenue of $236.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its holdings 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. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 225.4% in 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 during the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.