Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Up 0.4% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shot up 0.4% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $87.01 and last traded at $86.90. 3,334,916 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 17,571,701 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.59.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BABA shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Alibaba Group from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Alibaba Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.07.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 0.9 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $98.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $209.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 0.35. 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 Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $13.19. The firm had revenue of $236.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.45 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 12.28%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors raised its position in Alibaba Group by 3.7% in the third quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 3,123 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,152 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Alibaba Group by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,004 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 4.3% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its position in Alibaba Group by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 4,857 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $515,000 after purchasing an additional 143 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.