Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading 0.5% Higher – What’s Next?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s share price rose 0.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $85.89 and last traded at $85.59. Approximately 1,924,018 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 17,358,408 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.14.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BABA. Mizuho increased 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. StockNews.com lowered Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Barclays cut their price target on Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Macquarie raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Two investment 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, Alibaba Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.07.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $91.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.68. The stock has a market cap of $203.97 billion, a PE ratio of 17.35, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

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 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 firm had revenue of $236.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $353,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Alibaba Group by 1.2% during the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 42,417 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,054,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 20.4% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 49,517 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,565,000 after acquiring an additional 8,388 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 23,877 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,719,000 after acquiring an additional 1,829 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 18,241 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,313,000 after acquiring an additional 1,421 shares during the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.