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

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s stock price shot up 0.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $85.89 and last traded at $85.52. 5,235,414 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 17,372,986 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.14.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on BABA shares. Bank of America increased their target price on Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Macquarie upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, November 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alibaba Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.07.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $203.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $91.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.69.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $13.19. The company had revenue of $236.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.45 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BABA. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 1,392.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,125,542 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $650,043,000 after acquiring an additional 5,715,155 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Alibaba Group by 3,180.1% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 64.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $936,785,000 after buying an additional 3,448,152 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,959,954 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Alibaba Group by 9,205.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,697,358 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,801,240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,679,117 shares during the last quarter. 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.