Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Up 1.4% – Here’s Why

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) rose 1.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $87.28 and last traded at $87.25. Approximately 4,687,911 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 17,395,709 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.06.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BABA has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Bank of America upped their price target 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 shares of Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 0.8 %

The stock has a market cap of $201.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.30. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $13.19. The business had revenue of $236.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.45 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 12.28%. Alibaba Group’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.44 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 1,392.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,125,542 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $650,043,000 after purchasing an additional 5,715,155 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 3,180.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,857,760 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $409,385,000 after acquiring an additional 3,740,150 shares in the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. lifted its position in Alibaba Group by 64.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $936,785,000 after acquiring an additional 3,448,152 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Alibaba Group by 454.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,611,571 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $383,260,000 after purchasing an additional 2,959,954 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Alibaba Group by 9,205.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,697,358 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,801,240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,679,117 shares in the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by 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.