Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA)

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 308,026 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 34% compared to the typical daily volume of 229,776 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BABA shares. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Mizuho upped 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.07.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 7.4 %

NYSE:BABA opened at $92.32 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $220.62 billion, a PE ratio of 18.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.30. Alibaba Group has a 52-week low of $66.63 and a 52-week high of $117.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $96.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $13.19. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 12.28%. The business had revenue of $236.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.45 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group will post 8.44 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 5,715,155 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted 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 worth $409,385,000 after acquiring an additional 3,740,150 shares during the period. Hhlr Advisors LTD. grew its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 64.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $936,785,000 after purchasing an additional 3,448,152 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 454.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,611,571 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $383,260,000 after purchasing an additional 2,959,954 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 9,205.2% in 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 purchasing 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.