Alibaba Group’s (BABA) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Benchmark

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities researchers at Benchmark in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $118.00 price target on the specialty retailer’s stock. Benchmark’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 34.38% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on BABA. Bank of America increased 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. Macquarie upgraded 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 raised their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Alibaba Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.53.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

BABA traded down $2.77 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $87.81. 10,810,686 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,604,277. The firm has a market capitalization of $210.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.35. Alibaba Group has a 1-year low of $66.63 and a 1-year high of $117.82. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $98.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The specialty retailer reported $16.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $14.57. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 12.08%. The firm had revenue of $243.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $248.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.47 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alibaba Group will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 30,414 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,201,000 after purchasing an additional 3,305 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 87,022 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,297,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 53.2% during the 1st quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 28,517 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,063,000 after purchasing an additional 9,899 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 9.8% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 185,112 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $13,582,000 after acquiring an additional 16,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Alibaba Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $312,000. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.