Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Up 3.5% – What’s Next?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) rose 3.5% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $100.46 and last traded at $100.14. Approximately 5,760,467 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 17,582,684 shares. The stock had previously closed at $96.73.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on BABA shares. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Alibaba Group from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Macquarie raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Alibaba Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.13.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 period last year, the business earned $2.47 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Concord Wealth Partners increased its position in Alibaba Group by 155.0% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 139.3% during the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 359 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. 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.