Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Up 2.9% – Here’s What Happened

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s share price rose 2.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $85.59 and last traded at $84.85. Approximately 9,236,075 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 15% from the average daily volume of 10,840,915 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.43.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho upped their price objective on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Macquarie raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 14th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.13.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 3.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $203.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.30. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $86.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.63.

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

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its position 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 worth $27,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 225.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 397 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is 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.