Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after Robert W. Baird raised their price target on the stock from $110.00 to $125.00. The stock had previously closed at $125.79, but opened at $137.81. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Alibaba Group shares last traded at $139.63, with a volume of 51,119,766 shares trading hands.

BABA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of Alibaba Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup raised their target price on Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.93.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Concord Wealth Partners increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 155.0% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Alibaba Group by 225.4% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 397 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $327.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.98, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.11.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by ($0.07). Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. Sell-side analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.