Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Alibaba Group Call Options (NYSE:BABA)

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Traders bought 314,739 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 86% compared to the average volume of 169,302 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BABA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Alibaba Group from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Alibaba Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Alibaba Group from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $116.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.61.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 139.3% during the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 359 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC increased its holdings in Alibaba Group by 315.0% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 527 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

BABA stock opened at $97.22 on Wednesday. Alibaba Group has a 1 year low of $66.63 and a 1 year high of $97.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $81.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.95. The firm has a market cap of $246.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.66, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 0.33.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The specialty retailer reported $16.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $14.57. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 7.31%. The firm had revenue of $243.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $248.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.47 EPS. Alibaba Group’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Alibaba Group will post 7.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.