Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Up 7.4% – Should You Buy?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shot up 7.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $115.94 and last traded at $115.68. 17,203,222 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 16% from the average session volume of 20,526,881 shares. The stock had previously closed at $107.73.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup lowered their price target on Alibaba Group from $170.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Alibaba Group from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $150.36.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 1.5 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $127.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.74. The company has a market capitalization of $266.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24. 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 issued 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 business 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BABA. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter valued at $585,479,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 208.5% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,995,640 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $254,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,024,640 shares during the period. Appaloosa LP increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 18.4% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 95.4% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,112,187 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $179,087,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030,999 shares during the period. Finally, Polunin Capital Partners Ltd lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 218.1% in the 1st quarter. Polunin Capital Partners Ltd now owns 1,325,120 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $175,221,000 after purchasing an additional 908,544 shares during the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.