Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $119.54, but opened at $126.59. Alibaba Group shares last traded at $122.30, with a volume of 18,921,564 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BABA has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com lowered Alibaba Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, November 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.86.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

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 stock has a market cap of $294.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.31. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $90.47 and its 200 day moving average is $90.70.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $13.19. The firm had revenue of $236.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.45 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 12.28%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BABA. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its position in Alibaba Group by 155.0% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 225.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 397 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 275 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.