Robert W. Baird Raises Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Price Target to $125.00

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) had its price objective increased by Robert W. Baird from $110.00 to $125.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price would indicate a potential downside of 8.26% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com cut Alibaba Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.93.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

NYSE:BABA opened at $136.26 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $94.31 and a 200 day moving average of $92.42. The company has a market capitalization of $323.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.64, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.31. Alibaba Group has a 1-year low of $68.36 and a 1-year high of $144.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.84 by ($0.07). Alibaba Group had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 12.28%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alibaba Group will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 6.9% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,789,883 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $296,062,000 after acquiring an additional 178,999 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Alibaba Group by 8.6% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,360 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Alibaba Group by 2.3% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 403,766 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $42,848,000 after buying an additional 9,020 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Alibaba Group by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 24,863 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,638,000 after purchasing an additional 986 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Alibaba Group by 47.1% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 100,975 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $10,715,000 after purchasing an additional 32,324 shares in the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.