Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $96.03, but opened at $99.39. Alibaba Group shares last traded at $99.21, with a volume of 20,249,267 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on BABA. StockNews.com downgraded Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America upped their target price on Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. 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 report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.13.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $85.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.52. 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 market cap of $244.75 billion, a PE ratio of 20.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.30.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $13.19. The business had revenue of $236.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.45 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 12.28%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BABA. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 155,440 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $13,180,000 after purchasing an additional 27,088 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Alibaba Group by 131.2% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 74,807 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,343,000 after purchasing an additional 42,446 shares during the period. Generate Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in Alibaba Group in the third quarter valued at $12,656,000. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its position in Alibaba Group by 63.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 28,716 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,047,000 after acquiring an additional 11,192 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 6.5% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 822,904 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $87,327,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

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.