Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $119.81 and last traded at $118.35, with a volume of 43876099 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $112.78.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BABA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Mizuho upped their price target on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. 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 increased their target price on Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.86.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 4.9 %

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 firm has a market cap of $281.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $89.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $90.30.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued 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 business had revenue of $236.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $585,479,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 1,392.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,125,542 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $650,043,000 after buying an additional 5,715,155 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 3,180.1% in 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 valued at $409,385,000 after buying an additional 3,740,150 shares during the period. Hhlr Advisors LTD. lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 64.1% in the third quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $936,785,000 after buying an additional 3,448,152 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 454.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,611,571 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $383,260,000 after buying an additional 2,959,954 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.