Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Up 3.1% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) traded up 3.1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $137.66 and last traded at $136.34. 7,997,031 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 19,036,275 shares. The stock had previously closed at $132.24.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BABA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Benchmark lifted their price target on Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup upped their target price on Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $148.14.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $121.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $102.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $314.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced 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 12.89% and a net margin of 12.29%. Analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Appaloosa LP grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 11,843,158 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,004,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,843,158 shares during the period. Hhlr Advisors LTD. raised its holdings 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 during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $585,479,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,676,773 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $566,124,000 after purchasing an additional 438,537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,093,828 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $431,906,000 after purchasing an additional 78,757 shares during the period. 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.