Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Up 3.1% – What’s Next?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s stock price traded up 3.1% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $137.66 and last traded at $136.34. 7,997,031 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 19,036,275 shares. The stock had previously closed at $132.24.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BABA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley raised Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Alibaba Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays raised their target price on Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Arete Research upgraded shares of Alibaba Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alibaba Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $148.14.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $121.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $102.45. The company has a market cap of $314.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 12.29%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter worth about $585,479,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 3,180.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,857,760 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $409,385,000 after buying an additional 3,740,150 shares during the period. Hhlr Advisors LTD. grew its position in Alibaba Group by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $936,785,000 after purchasing an additional 3,448,152 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 454.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,611,571 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $383,260,000 after buying an additional 2,959,954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 208.5% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,995,640 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $254,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,024,640 shares in the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is currently 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.