Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Up 0.4% – What’s Next?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s share price traded up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $139.19 and last traded at $137.75. 7,913,517 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 18,753,952 shares. The stock had previously closed at $137.14.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BABA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Benchmark boosted their target price on Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America raised their price target on Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alibaba Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $328.68 billion, a PE ratio of 19.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $108.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.90.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $38.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 12.89%. Research analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter worth $585,479,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Alibaba Group by 3,180.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,857,760 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $409,385,000 after purchasing an additional 3,740,150 shares during the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $936,785,000 after purchasing an additional 3,448,152 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Alibaba Group by 454.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,611,571 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $383,260,000 after buying an additional 2,959,954 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Alibaba Group by 208.5% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,995,640 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $254,000,000 after buying an additional 2,024,640 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.