Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Up 1.5% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) rose 1.5% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $125.22 and last traded at $124.75. Approximately 3,672,286 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 20,269,642 shares. The stock had previously closed at $122.96.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Benchmark cut their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $190.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Bank of America increased their price target on Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 price target on Alibaba Group in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.21.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 1.7%

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $123.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.51. The company has a market cap of $298.59 billion, a PE ratio of 18.04, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.84 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $38.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 12.89%. On average, analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Alibaba Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a — dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 12th will be given a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 12th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.8%. Alibaba Group’s dividend payout ratio is 13.15%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BABA. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $87,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Alibaba Group by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,987 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,395 shares in the last quarter. FLC Capital Advisors bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $255,000. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. now owns 76,486 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,485,000 after purchasing an additional 3,236 shares during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 13,892 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,178,000 after purchasing an additional 779 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.