Macquarie Upgrades Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) to Outperform

Macquarie upgraded shares of Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a report published on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Macquarie currently has $145.00 price objective on the specialty retailer’s stock.

BABA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $116.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an equal weight rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America raised their price target on Alibaba Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Alibaba Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on Alibaba Group from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a positive rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned 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 $110.75.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Alibaba Group stock opened at $109.28 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.41. Alibaba Group has a 52-week low of $66.63 and a 52-week high of $117.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $277.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $88.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.64.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The specialty retailer reported $16.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $14.57. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 12.08%. The firm had revenue of $243.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $248.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.47 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Alibaba Group will post 7.93 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 21,870,987 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,574,711,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074,175 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd increased its holdings in Alibaba Group by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 10,630,701 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $823,986,000 after buying an additional 983,842 shares in the last quarter. H&H International Investment LLC increased its holdings in Alibaba Group by 63.1% in the 4th quarter. H&H International Investment LLC now owns 4,959,230 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $384,390,000 after buying an additional 1,918,730 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its holdings in Alibaba Group by 39.2% in the 1st quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 3,582,005 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $259,194,000 after buying an additional 1,009,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Discerene Group LP increased its holdings in Alibaba Group by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Discerene Group LP now owns 3,021,375 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $218,627,000 after buying an additional 529,237 shares in 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.