Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Up 0.1% – Here’s Why

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shot up 0.1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $136.25 and last traded at $134.68. 8,990,459 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 19,036,118 shares. The stock had previously closed at $134.48.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $100.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Alibaba Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 1.7 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $119.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $101.86. The company has a market capitalization of $319.48 billion, a PE ratio of 19.42, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $38.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 12.29%. Analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Appaloosa LP raised its position in Alibaba Group by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 11,843,158 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,004,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,843,158 shares during the period. Hhlr Advisors LTD. lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $936,785,000 after acquiring an additional 3,448,152 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $585,479,000. 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 worth $566,124,000 after purchasing an additional 438,537 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,093,828 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $431,906,000 after purchasing an additional 78,757 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.