Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Up 3.8% – What’s Next?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shot up 3.8% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $101.28 and last traded at $99.71. 40,321,714 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 159% from the average session volume of 15,545,454 shares. The stock had previously closed at $96.03.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on BABA. StockNews.com cut shares of Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Bank of America upped their price target on Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Macquarie raised Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.13.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 4.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of $234.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $86.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.62.

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

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BABA. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 1,392.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,125,542 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $650,043,000 after acquiring an additional 5,715,155 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 3,180.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,857,760 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $409,385,000 after purchasing an additional 3,740,150 shares during the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. raised its holdings in shares of 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 period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 454.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,611,571 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $383,260,000 after buying an additional 2,959,954 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 9,205.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,697,358 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,801,240,000 after buying an additional 1,679,117 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.