Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $145.36 and last traded at $142.94, with a volume of 10146635 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $139.95.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on BABA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $333.20 billion, a PE ratio of 20.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $104.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.30.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.84 by ($0.07). Alibaba Group had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 12.89%. The business had revenue of $38.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.19 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BABA. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 0.3% in 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 during the last quarter. Appaloosa LP lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 11,843,158 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,004,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,843,158 shares during the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 3,448,152 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter valued at $585,479,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,676,773 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $566,124,000 after acquiring an additional 438,537 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.