Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Up 5.9% After Analyst Upgrade

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s stock price rose 5.9% during mid-day trading on Friday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $125.00 to $170.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Alibaba Group traded as high as $145.30 and last traded at $143.98. Approximately 36,925,402 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 27% from the average daily volume of 29,088,836 shares. The stock had previously closed at $135.97.

BABA has been the subject of a number of other reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, November 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Alibaba Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.79.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BABA. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $337,000. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 89,409.6% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 562,120 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $47,662,000 after acquiring an additional 561,492 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter valued at $10,303,000. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 811.6% during the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 25,644 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,174,000 after purchasing an additional 22,831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JT Stratford LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 6,838 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $580,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 5.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $342.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.29, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a 50 day moving average of $94.31 and a 200 day moving average of $92.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.84 by ($0.07). Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. The firm had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.19 billion. Analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.