Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Up 3.8% – What’s Next?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s stock price shot up 3.8% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $107.51 and last traded at $104.16. 25,161,060 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 23% from the average session volume of 20,519,730 shares. The stock had previously closed at $100.38.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.13.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 3.3 %

The firm has a market cap of $246.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $87.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $13.19. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 12.28%. The company had revenue of $236.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. Alibaba Group’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its stake in Alibaba Group by 155.0% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 225.4% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 397 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

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.