Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Price Target Raised to $205.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) had its price objective hoisted by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $200.00 to $205.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 43.49% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. DZ Bank cut shares of Alibaba Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $135.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Alibaba Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $209.00 price objective for the company. Arete Research upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alibaba Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $189.45.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of Alibaba Group stock traded down $2.94 on Thursday, hitting $142.87. 11,773,057 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,883,624. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $131.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $149.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Alibaba Group has a 12-month low of $103.71 and a 12-month high of $192.67. The company has a market cap of $342.75 billion, a PE ratio of 26.89, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.50.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The specialty retailer reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The business had revenue of $35.30 billion for the quarter. Sell-side analysts predict that Alibaba Group will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its position in Alibaba Group by 101.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 143 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new position in Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. NBT Bank N A NY lifted its position in Alibaba Group by 231.5% during the 3rd quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 179 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. lifted its position in Alibaba Group by 95.2% during the 1st quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 205 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Alibaba Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Alibaba Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alibaba highlighted strong momentum in cloud and AI, with Cloud Intelligence revenue rising sharply and external customer growth accelerating, suggesting the company’s AI strategy is gaining traction. Reuters: Alibaba quarterly revenue rises 3%, missing estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho raised its price target on BABA and reiterated an outperform rating, signaling continued analyst confidence despite the earnings miss. Benzinga price target update
• Neutral Sentiment: Management said AI-related revenue is becoming a larger part of the business and that the company may spend more than planned on AI, reinforcing a long-term investment theme rather than an immediate profit story. PYMNTS: Alibaba sacrifices profits to fuel AI growth
• Negative Sentiment: Headline earnings fell well short of estimates, and profitability came under pressure as Alibaba ramped spending across AI, cloud, and commerce, raising concerns about near-term margin compression. Zacks: Alibaba Q4 Earnings Fall Short of Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports noted that investors were disappointed by the lack of a clearer near-term AI payoff, with heavy spending continuing to outweigh the benefits of revenue growth. WSJ: Alibaba’s Quarterly Profitability Still Under Pressure

Alibaba Group Company Profile

Alibaba Group Holding Limited is a Chinese multinational conglomerate founded in 1999 in Hangzhou, China, by Jack Ma and a group of co?founders. The company built its business around internet-based commerce and related services and has grown into one of the largest e-commerce and technology companies in the world. Alibaba completed a high?profile initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014.

The company operates a portfolio of online marketplaces and platforms serving different customer segments: Alibaba.com for global and domestic B2B trade, Taobao for consumer-to-consumer shopping, and Tmall for brand and retailer storefronts targeted at Chinese consumers.