Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Price Target Raised to $138.00

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) had its target price hoisted by Citigroup from $133.00 to $138.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

BABA has been the topic of several other reports. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com cut Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Macquarie upgraded Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Two equities 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, Alibaba Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.13.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 3.8 %

NYSE BABA opened at $80.49 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $191.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.33, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a 50 day moving average of $87.59 and a 200-day moving average of $87.54. Alibaba Group has a 1-year low of $66.63 and a 1-year high of $117.82.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alibaba Group will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BABA. Generate Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the third quarter worth $12,656,000. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 63.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 28,716 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,047,000 after buying an additional 11,192 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 6.5% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 822,904 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $87,327,000 after buying an additional 50,000 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 7,734.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 269,805 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,632,000 after acquiring an additional 266,361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aspex Management HK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the third quarter worth approximately $115,995,000. 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.