Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Up 1.8% – Should You Buy?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shares shot up 1.8% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $82.65 and last traded at $81.97. 3,508,382 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 10,781,601 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.54.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Mizuho increased 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. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Macquarie upgraded Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.13.

Alibaba Group Trading Down 0.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $196.27 billion, a PE ratio of 16.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.30. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $86.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $13.19. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 12.28%. The business had revenue of $236.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Generate Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $12,656,000. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 63.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 28,716 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,047,000 after buying an additional 11,192 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 6.5% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 822,904 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $87,327,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 7,734.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 269,805 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,632,000 after buying an additional 266,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aspex Management HK Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the third quarter valued at about $115,995,000. Hedge funds and other 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.