Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Up 4.3% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) were up 4.3% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $126.80 and last traded at $124.73. Approximately 52,592,862 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 142% from the average daily volume of 21,722,708 shares. The stock had previously closed at $119.54.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup increased their target price on Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.86.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $91.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.20. The company has a market cap of $296.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 0.3% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 18,460,434 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,959,021,000 after purchasing an additional 60,667 shares in the last quarter. Appaloosa LP raised its holdings in Alibaba Group by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 11,843,158 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,004,181,000 after buying an additional 1,843,158 shares during the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $936,785,000 after buying an additional 3,448,152 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $585,479,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Alibaba Group by 7.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 438,537 shares during the period. 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.