Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday . Approximately 10,394,267 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 41% from the previous session’s volume of 17,602,400 shares.The stock last traded at $87.77 and had previously closed at $90.58.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BABA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Alibaba Group from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Macquarie upgraded Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $107.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Alibaba Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.53.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.56. The stock has a market cap of $212.12 billion, a PE ratio of 23.19, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.35.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The specialty retailer reported $16.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $14.57. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 12.08%. The business had revenue of $243.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $248.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 3.7% during the third quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 3,123 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,152 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,004 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 3.0% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 4,857 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $515,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

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.