Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Up 1.6% – Still a Buy?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shot up 1.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $99.86 and last traded at $99.17. 3,359,812 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 17,642,301 shares. The stock had previously closed at $97.58.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BABA shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, August 16th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Macquarie raised Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $113.13.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market cap of $236.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.36. The company’s fifty day moving average is $95.62 and its 200 day moving average is $84.20.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The specialty retailer reported $16.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $14.57. The business had revenue of $243.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $248.32 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 7.31%. Alibaba Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.47 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Alibaba Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $262,000. Choreo LLC lifted its position in Alibaba Group by 21.8% during the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 3,909 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 25.0% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 2,575 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Alibaba Group in the 1st quarter worth $529,000. Finally, Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 6.4% during the first quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 113,028 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $8,179,000 after purchasing an additional 6,785 shares in the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is currently 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.