Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Gap Up to $81.44

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $81.44, but opened at $83.80. Alibaba Group shares last traded at $83.62, with a volume of 3,756,940 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BABA. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $116.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Alibaba Group from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.61.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 1.8 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market cap of $210.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.33. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $79.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.97.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released 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. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 7.31%. The business had revenue of $243.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $248.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.47 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 168.6% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 10,245 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $794,000 after purchasing an additional 6,431 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,785 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,068,000 after buying an additional 1,899 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Alibaba Group by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 5,948 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $461,000 after buying an additional 804 shares during the last quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter valued at $237,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter worth $1,651,000. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.