Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA) – What Are Analysts Saying About This Stock?

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $182.89.

Several analysts have recently commented on BABA shares. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Alibaba Group from $164.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 21st. HSBC set a $170.00 price target on Alibaba Group in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Piper Sandler lowered Alibaba Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Alibaba Group from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st.

Alibaba Group Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE:BABA opened at $99.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $110.30 and a 200-day moving average of $126.94. The company has a market cap of $247.42 billion, a PE ratio of 24.08, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.47. Alibaba Group has a one year low of $91.99 and a one year high of $181.10.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The specialty retailer reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.94 by ($0.68). The business had revenue of $39.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.52 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 7.00% and a return on equity of 4.79%. Alibaba Group’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $14.75 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alibaba Group will post 5.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Siying Yu sold 6,764 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.58, for a total transaction of $91,855.12. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 613,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,337,644.70. This trade represents a 1.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Hong Xu sold 103,046 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.68, for a total transaction of $1,409,669.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 406,450 shares in the company, valued at $5,560,236. The trade was a 20.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 999,971 shares of company stock valued at $13,563,304 over the last 90 days. 12.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter worth $234,000. Summit Wealth Group LLC Co. bought a new position in Alibaba Group during the third quarter valued at about $398,000. Trek Financial LLC grew its position in Alibaba Group by 12.8% during the third quarter. Trek Financial LLC now owns 94,364 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $10,148,000 after buying an additional 10,713 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its position in Alibaba Group by 4.3% during the third quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 29,045 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,124,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group during the third quarter worth about $12,327,000. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

About Alibaba Group

Alibaba Group Holding Limited is a technology and commerce company founded in 1999 and headquartered in Hangzhou, China. It operates a broad digital ecosystem that connects consumers, merchants, brands and businesses through online marketplaces, technology platforms and related services.

The company’s China commerce businesses include Taobao, a consumer-focused marketplace, and Tmall, which enables brands and retailers to sell directly to consumers. Alibaba also operates 1688, a business-to-business wholesale marketplace.