Benchmark Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA)

Benchmark restated their buy rating on shares of Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. Benchmark currently has a $118.00 price target on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Alibaba Group from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Macquarie raised Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.53.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 0.9 %

Alibaba Group stock opened at $89.37 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $98.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market cap of $213.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 0.35. Alibaba Group has a twelve month low of $66.63 and a twelve month high of $117.82.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 7.31%. The business had revenue of $236.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.45 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Alibaba Group will post 8.51 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Alibaba Group by 1,392.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,125,542 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $650,043,000 after acquiring an additional 5,715,155 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Alibaba Group by 3,180.1% in the 3rd 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 valued at $409,385,000 after buying an additional 3,740,150 shares during the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $936,785,000 after buying an additional 3,448,152 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 454.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,611,571 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $383,260,000 after acquiring an additional 2,959,954 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Alibaba Group by 9,205.2% in 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 during the period. 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.