Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Up 7.4% – Time to Buy?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shares shot up 7.4% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $115.94 and last traded at $115.68. 17,203,222 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 16% from the average session volume of 20,526,881 shares. The stock had previously closed at $107.73.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BABA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $104.00 to $165.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Arete Research raised shares of Alibaba Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alibaba Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.36.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $271.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $126.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.64.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 12.89%. Equities analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wynn Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 13,193 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,745,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group during the first quarter worth about $1,948,000. Barden Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $688,000. RDA Financial Network acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 33.4% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,207 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $160,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is currently 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.