Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Up 3.3% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) were up 3.3% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $85.59 and last traded at $85.16. Approximately 21,072,995 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 105% from the average daily volume of 10,289,486 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.43.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BABA. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays lowered their price target on Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note 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. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alibaba Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.13.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $203.45 billion, a PE ratio of 17.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.30. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $85.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.93.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $13.19. The company had revenue of $236.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.45 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 12.28%. Alibaba Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 3,123 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 6.0% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,152 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,825 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 13,013 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,103,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is currently 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.