Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading 1.3% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) rose 1.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $133.85 and last traded at $134.48. Approximately 5,156,452 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 18,999,653 shares. The stock had previously closed at $132.75.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on BABA shares. Barclays boosted their target price on Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $314.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $118.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.64.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sanders Capital LLC raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 0.3% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 18,460,434 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,959,021,000 after buying an additional 60,667 shares in the last quarter. Appaloosa LP raised 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 valued at $1,004,181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,843,158 shares in the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 64.1% during the third 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. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter worth $585,479,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,676,773 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $566,124,000 after purchasing an additional 438,537 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.