Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Up 0.2% – Still a Buy?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s share price was up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $85.47 and last traded at $85.08. Approximately 2,746,019 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 6,573,284 shares. The stock had previously closed at $84.95.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Macquarie raised 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. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 0.7 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $89.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The company has a market cap of $204.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.30.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm earned $1.82 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 21,870,987 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,574,711,000 after buying an additional 1,074,175 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 18,460,434 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,959,021,000 after purchasing an additional 60,667 shares in the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 3,448,152 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 1,392.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,125,542 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $650,043,000 after purchasing an additional 5,715,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 3,180.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,857,760 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $409,385,000 after buying an additional 3,740,150 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

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.