Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Upgraded at DZ Bank

DZ Bank upgraded shares of Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $140.00 price target on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $190.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $164.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $190.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Monday, November 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut shares of Alibaba Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $183.53.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE BABA traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $94.30. 11,681,096 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,312,458. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36. Alibaba Group has a twelve month low of $91.99 and a twelve month high of $181.10. The company has a market cap of $234.59 billion, a PE ratio of 22.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.44. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $106.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $123.22.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.52 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 4.79% and a net margin of 7.00%. Alibaba Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $14.75 EPS. Research analysts predict that Alibaba Group will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Alibaba Group in the third quarter valued at about $231,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Alibaba Group during the third quarter worth about $925,000. Kovack Advisors Inc. raised its position in Alibaba Group by 27.8% during the third quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 4,489 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $483,000 after acquiring an additional 976 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 58.3% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 916,800 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $98,593,000 after purchasing an additional 337,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 52.1% in the third quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 254,397 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,358,000 after purchasing an additional 87,103 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group News Summary

Investors following BABA have been watching these news items:

• Neutral Sentiment: Alibaba is reportedly planning a Hong Kong listing for its T-Head semiconductor unit. A listing could draw attention to the value of its in-house chip business, though the reports provide limited detail on timing or proceeds. Article: Alibaba plans Hong Kong listing for semiconductor subsidiary T-Head
• Negative Sentiment: Reports say the U.S. Commerce Department is preparing rules that could block Chinese AI developers from remotely renting advanced chips hosted in overseas data centers. Because Alibaba Cloud’s relationship with Singapore-based Megaspeed is receiving scrutiny, investors are concerned the rules could limit access to computing capacity and weigh on AI-cloud growth. Article: Alibaba (BABA) Risks A Cloud Setback From New US AI Chip Rules
• Negative Sentiment: The Nvidia controversy has intensified attention on Chinese companies’ ties to U.S. technology. Reports tracing financing links between Alibaba-related units and Megaspeed add to uncertainty around potential chip-access restrictions. Article: Alibaba-Megaspeed financing link traced via Singapore, Malaysia units amid Nvidia chip scrutiny

About Alibaba Group

Alibaba Group Holding Limited is a technology and commerce company founded in 1999 and headquartered in Hangzhou, China. It operates digital platforms that connect consumers, merchants, businesses and other participants in commerce. Its businesses include China-focused marketplaces such as Taobao and Tmall, international platforms including AliExpress and Alibaba.com, and Alibaba Cloud, which provides cloud computing and related technology services. The group also has operations in areas such as logistics, local services and digital media.