Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Up 8.9% – Still a Buy?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s stock price traded up 8.9% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $94.04 and last traded at $93.59. 15,937,763 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 9% from the average session volume of 17,497,426 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Alibaba Group from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays decreased their target price on Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Macquarie raised Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price 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, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alibaba Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $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. The firm has a market cap of $214.67 billion, a PE ratio of 18.23, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.30.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BABA. Generate Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $12,656,000. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 63.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 28,716 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,047,000 after acquiring an additional 11,192 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 822,904 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $87,327,000 after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 7,734.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 269,805 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,632,000 after acquiring an additional 266,361 shares during the period. Finally, Aspex Management HK Ltd purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $115,995,000. 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.