Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Up 1.4% on Analyst Upgrade

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shares shot up 1.4% on Wednesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $107.00 to $137.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Alibaba Group traded as high as $103.60 and last traded at $103.30. 4,610,551 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 17,870,131 shares. The stock had previously closed at $101.84.

BABA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $116.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, July 26th. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Macquarie upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.63.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Alibaba Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 139.3% in the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 359 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 315.0% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 527 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alibaba Group Trading Down 2.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $253.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $91.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.97.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The specialty retailer reported $16.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $14.57. The firm had revenue of $243.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $248.32 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 12.08%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.47 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.93 EPS for the current year.

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.