Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading 1.9% Higher – Still a Buy?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shot up 1.9% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $101.74 and last traded at $101.15. 5,190,782 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 20,146,539 shares. The stock had previously closed at $99.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on BABA. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, November 15th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays reduced their price target on Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.13.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 3.3 %

The firm has a market cap of $246.69 billion, a PE ratio of 21.04, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $88.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.60.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 13,143 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after buying an additional 748 shares during the last quarter. Glaxis Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth about $254,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,518,000. Eos Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Eos Management L.P. now owns 41,107 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,485,000 after acquiring an additional 6,724 shares during the period. Finally, Net Worth Advisory Group boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 63.3% in the 4th quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 5,213 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 2,021 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

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.