Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $114.07.

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE BABA opened at $85.00 on Thursday. Alibaba Group has a 52-week low of $66.63 and a 52-week high of $117.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $93.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.49. The firm has a market cap of $203.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.30.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $13.19. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. The firm had revenue of $236.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Alibaba Group will post 8.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 41.7% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 29,534 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,203,000 after purchasing an additional 8,685 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group during the third quarter worth $124,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 25.0% in the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 20,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,122,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 5,533 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $587,000 after buying an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $89,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

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.