Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Thursday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on BABA. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $104.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Arete Research upgraded Alibaba Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Benchmark upped their target price on Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.14.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 9.9 %

BABA opened at $116.56 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $276.85 billion, a PE ratio of 16.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24. Alibaba Group has a twelve month low of $68.36 and a twelve month high of $148.43. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $125.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by ($0.07). Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 12.29%. The firm had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.19 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Alibaba Group will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BABA. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $585,479,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 208.5% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,995,640 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $254,000,000 after buying an additional 2,024,640 shares in the last quarter. Appaloosa LP lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,843,158 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 95.4% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,112,187 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $179,087,000 after acquiring an additional 1,030,999 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $73,727,000. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.