Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Up 4.8%

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s stock price traded up 4.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $79.21 and last traded at $79.17. 10,417,155 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 17,650,664 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.51.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BABA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Macquarie cut shares of Alibaba Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $88.50 to $85.40 in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $150.00 to $135.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.91.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 6.4 %

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $73.28 and its 200-day moving average is $75.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The company has a market capitalization of $203.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.86 and a beta of 0.44.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $18.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $19.12 by ($0.15). Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.65% and a net margin of 10.75%. The business had revenue of $260.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $260.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 184.6% during the 4th quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 333 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lifted its position in Alibaba Group by 116.7% during the third quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 325 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 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.