Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Up 5.9% Following Analyst Upgrade

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s stock price shot up 5.9% during mid-day trading on Friday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $125.00 to $170.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Alibaba Group traded as high as $145.30 and last traded at $143.98. 36,925,402 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 27% from the average session volume of 29,088,836 shares. The stock had previously closed at $135.97.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. StockNews.com upgraded Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.79.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BABA. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,789,883 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $296,062,000 after purchasing an additional 178,999 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 47.1% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 100,975 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $10,715,000 after buying an additional 32,324 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $299,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,801,240,000 after acquiring an additional 1,679,117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter worth $258,000. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 5.9 %

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.42. The firm has a market cap of $342.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.29, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.84 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $38.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share 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.