Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Up 1.8% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shot up 1.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $101.87 and last traded at $100.63. 16,413,806 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 17% from the average session volume of 19,882,875 shares. The stock had previously closed at $98.84.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BABA has been the subject of several research reports. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, November 15th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.13.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $87.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.26. The stock has a market cap of $236.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.31.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 2,459.0% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,559 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 2,459 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 46.3% during the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 10,245 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $869,000 after purchasing an additional 3,242 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,112,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 53,076 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,500,000 after buying an additional 7,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 14,736 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,250,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

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.