Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Up 1.2% – Still a Buy?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) rose 1.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $141.82 and last traded at $140.02. Approximately 8,459,671 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 55% from the average daily volume of 18,771,530 shares. The stock had previously closed at $138.35.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BABA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Arete Research raised Alibaba Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com raised Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America increased their price objective on Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 1.9 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $110.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $334.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.37, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.84 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $38.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 12.29%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanders Capital LLC raised its holdings in Alibaba Group by 0.3% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 18,460,434 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,959,021,000 after purchasing an additional 60,667 shares during the last quarter. Appaloosa LP increased its position in Alibaba Group by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 11,843,158 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,004,181,000 after buying an additional 1,843,158 shares in the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. increased its position in Alibaba Group by 64.1% during the third quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $936,785,000 after buying an additional 3,448,152 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth $585,479,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Alibaba Group by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,676,773 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $566,124,000 after buying an additional 438,537 shares in the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.