Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Up 0.4% – What’s Next?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) was up 0.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $139.19 and last traded at $137.75. Approximately 7,913,517 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 18,753,952 shares. The stock had previously closed at $137.14.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BABA shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. 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, February 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $104.00 to $165.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 1.9 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $110.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.59. The firm has a market cap of $334.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $38.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 12.29%. As a group, research analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ bought a new position in Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $289,000. Lighthouse Financial LLC bought a new position in Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $237,000. Fluent Financial LLC grew its position in Alibaba Group by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Fluent Financial LLC now owns 10,627 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $901,000 after buying an additional 1,957 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. grew its position in Alibaba Group by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 3,134 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LM Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $855,000. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

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.