Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Rating Upgraded by Morgan Stanley

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) was upgraded by analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report issued on Monday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage presently has a $180.00 price objective on the specialty retailer’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $100.00. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 25.29% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com raised Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Mizuho upped their price target on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.36.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

Shares of BABA stock opened at $143.67 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $95.43 and its 200 day moving average is $93.09. Alibaba Group has a one year low of $68.36 and a one year high of $145.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $341.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.31.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. Sell-side analysts expect that Alibaba Group will post 7.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth $337,000. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 89,409.6% during the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 562,120 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $47,662,000 after buying an additional 561,492 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $10,303,000. Vise Technologies Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 22,831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JT Stratford LLC grew its position in Alibaba Group by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 6,838 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $580,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during 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.