Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Up 3.3% – Here’s Why

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shares shot up 3.3% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $85.59 and last traded at $85.16. 21,072,995 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 105% from the average session volume of 10,289,486 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.43.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BABA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Macquarie raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.13.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $86.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.86. The company has a market cap of $202.93 billion, a PE ratio of 17.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.45 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. Alibaba Group’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Concord Wealth Partners raised its holdings in Alibaba Group by 155.0% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Alibaba Group during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Alibaba Group during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 225.4% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 397 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.