Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $152.93, but opened at $160.00. Alibaba Group shares last traded at $160.3880, with a volume of 7,478,965 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BABA has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research downgraded Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Alibaba Group from $168.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Alibaba Group from $178.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Arete upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $152.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.89.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $376.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.19. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.45.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BABA. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 1,349,768.3% in the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 49,013,718 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,558,646,000 after purchasing an additional 49,010,087 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 0.7% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 20,764,276 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,354,877,000 after buying an additional 140,579 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 22.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,648,064 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,069,144,000 after buying an additional 2,885,154 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 43.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,595,269 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,136,554,000 after buying an additional 2,584,480 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 85.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 8,557,495 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,131,558,000 after buying an additional 3,947,460 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

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.