Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Up 3.5% – Here’s What Happened

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shares were up 3.5% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $115.54 and last traded at $115.20. Approximately 33,683,388 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 52% from the average daily volume of 22,230,373 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.32.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BABA. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.86.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $88.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.05. The company has a market cap of $269.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.97, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.31. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $13.19. The firm had revenue of $236.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.45 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 12.28%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BABA. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 6.9% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,789,883 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $296,062,000 after buying an additional 178,999 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the third quarter worth $213,000. Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 2.1% during the third quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 20,527 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,178,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the third quarter worth $1,168,000. Finally, Stablepoint Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 6.1% during the third quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 14,215 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,508,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.