Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Up 4.8% – Should You Buy?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) was up 4.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $141.33 and last traded at $138.84. Approximately 14,006,960 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 25% from the average daily volume of 18,680,048 shares. The stock had previously closed at $132.54.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Arete Research raised Alibaba Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley raised Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $100.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $106.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $330.92 billion, a PE ratio of 20.11, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by ($0.07). Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 12.29%. The company had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.19 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fluent Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. Fluent Financial LLC now owns 10,627 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $901,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. boosted its stake in Alibaba Group by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 3,134 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. LM Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $855,000. Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,194,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 45.5% during the 4th quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 1,696 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.