Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Up 1.7% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shot up 1.7% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $101.09 and last traded at $100.03. 4,942,102 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 17,607,824 shares. The stock had previously closed at $98.40.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BABA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Macquarie raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $107.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Alibaba Group from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.13.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $96.65 and its 200 day moving average is $84.70. The stock has a market cap of $239.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.41.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The specialty retailer reported $16.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $14.57. The business had revenue of $243.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $248.32 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 12.08%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.47 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BABA. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Alibaba Group by 1,392.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,125,542 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $650,043,000 after acquiring an additional 5,715,155 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 9,205.2% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 1,679,117 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 79.5% in the 2nd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,610,884 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $188,197,000 after buying an additional 1,156,479 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 384.2% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,424,944 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $102,596,000 after purchasing an additional 1,130,643 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Alibaba Group by 523.8% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,335,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $96,163,000 after buying an additional 1,121,500 shares in the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.