Bank of America Issues Positive Forecast for Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) had its target price lifted by Bank of America from $117.00 to $150.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Mizuho upped their price objective on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com raised Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays decreased their target price on Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.93.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 5.7 %

Shares of Alibaba Group stock opened at $143.67 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $341.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.31. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.88. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $68.36 and a fifty-two week high of $145.30.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by ($0.07). Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. The firm had revenue of $38.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.19 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alibaba Group will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 18,460,434 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,959,021,000 after buying an additional 60,667 shares during the period. Appaloosa LP raised its holdings in Alibaba Group by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 11,843,158 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,004,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,843,158 shares during the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. grew its position in shares of 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 position in Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter valued at $585,479,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,676,773 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $566,124,000 after purchasing an additional 438,537 shares during the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by 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.