Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $96.03, but opened at $99.39. Alibaba Group shares last traded at $99.21, with a volume of 20,249,267 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on BABA shares. Mizuho raised their price objective on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America increased their target price on Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.13.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $85.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.46. The company has a market cap of $233.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.30.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $13.19. The business had revenue of $236.50 billion for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS 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. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 1,392.6% during the third 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 period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 3,180.1% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Hhlr Advisors LTD. grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $936,785,000 after buying an additional 3,448,152 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 454.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,611,571 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $383,260,000 after buying an additional 2,959,954 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 9,205.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,697,358 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,801,240,000 after acquiring an additional 1,679,117 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.