Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Thursday.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $104.00 to $165.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $148.14.

Alibaba Group Trading Down 9.9 %

Shares of NYSE BABA opened at $116.56 on Thursday. Alibaba Group has a twelve month low of $68.36 and a twelve month high of $148.43. The firm has a market cap of $276.85 billion, a PE ratio of 16.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.84 by ($0.07). Alibaba Group had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 12.89%. The firm had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.19 billion. Analysts expect that Alibaba Group will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BABA. Appaloosa LP lifted its position in Alibaba Group by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 11,843,158 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,004,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,843,158 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $585,479,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,676,773 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $566,124,000 after purchasing an additional 438,537 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,093,828 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $431,906,000 after acquiring an additional 78,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,610,035 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $390,885,000 after purchasing an additional 752,275 shares in the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.