Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Up 1.2%

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shares were up 1.2% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $72.59 and last traded at $72.45. Approximately 4,525,891 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 19,014,008 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.59.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Macquarie lowered Alibaba Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $88.50 to $85.40 in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Alibaba Group from $150.00 to $135.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Benchmark dropped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $150.00 to $128.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $138.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alibaba Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.44.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $73.45 and a 200-day moving average of $77.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.36 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 1.80.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $18.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $19.12 by ($0.15). Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.65% and a net margin of 10.75%. The firm had revenue of $260.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $260.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. Alibaba Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BABA. Savant Capital LLC raised its position in Alibaba Group by 2.7% in the third quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 4,756 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 6,727 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $584,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,170 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 32.9% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 6.1% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,464 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.