Alibaba Group Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:BABA)

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Traders purchased 272,236 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 26% compared to the typical daily volume of 216,456 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BABA shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com lowered Alibaba Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.53.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

Alibaba Group stock traded down $1.99 during trading on Friday, reaching $88.59. The company had a trading volume of 31,018,266 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,693,400. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.41. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $98.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.12 billion, a PE ratio of 23.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.35. Alibaba Group has a 1-year low of $66.63 and a 1-year high of $117.82.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The specialty retailer reported $16.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $14.57. The firm had revenue of $243.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $248.32 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 12.08%. Alibaba Group’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 3.7% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Alibaba Group by 14.6% during the second quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,004 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 4,857 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $515,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is 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.