Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading 0.2% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s share price traded up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $85.47 and last traded at $85.08. 2,746,019 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 6,573,284 shares. The stock had previously closed at $84.95.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BABA. Barclays reduced their target price 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. Macquarie raised Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com lowered Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.07.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 0.7 %

The firm has a market cap of $204.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.35, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.30. The business has a fifty day moving average of $89.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $13.19. The company 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%. Alibaba Group’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 1,392.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,125,542 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $650,043,000 after purchasing an additional 5,715,155 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 3,740,150 shares during the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. increased its position in Alibaba Group by 64.1% during the third 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 454.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,611,571 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $383,260,000 after acquiring an additional 2,959,954 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,679,117 shares in the last quarter. 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.