Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading 1.2% Higher

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s stock price shot up 1.2% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $72.59 and last traded at $72.45. 4,525,891 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 19,014,008 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.59.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $150.00 to $128.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $121.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Macquarie cut shares of Alibaba Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $88.50 to $85.40 in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective (down from $110.00) on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, December 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.44.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $73.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.61 billion, a PE ratio of 13.36 and a beta of 0.47.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $18.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $19.12 by ($0.15). Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.65% and a net margin of 10.75%. The company had revenue of $260.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $260.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.44 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BABA. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $53,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 1st quarter valued at $2,452,000. Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 1st quarter worth $390,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alibaba Group by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,342 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $799,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 46.0% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 7,816 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $850,000 after purchasing an additional 2,464 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.