Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Up 1.8% – Should You Buy?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s stock price was up 1.8% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $82.65 and last traded at $81.97. Approximately 3,508,382 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 10,781,601 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.54.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of 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 downgraded Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 14th. Macquarie upgraded Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.13.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 1.6 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $194.93 billion, a PE ratio of 16.59, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.30. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $87.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.60.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $13.19. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. The company had revenue of $236.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.45 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. Alibaba Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.44 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 BABA. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 3,123 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 6.0% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,152 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 14.6% in the second quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,004 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,825 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wynn Capital LLC raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 13,013 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. 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.