Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Up 1.9% – Time to Buy?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s stock price was up 1.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $101.74 and last traded at $101.15. Approximately 5,190,782 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 20,146,539 shares. The stock had previously closed at $99.28.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BABA shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.13.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 1.4 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business’s fifty day moving average is $87.44 and its 200 day moving average is $89.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $239.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.31.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $13.19. The business had revenue of $236.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.45 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 12.28%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 49,137 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,166,000 after acquiring an additional 6,492 shares during the period. DJE Kapital AG bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $24,294,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth about $446,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth about $3,656,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 37.2% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 22,438 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,903,000 after buying an additional 6,081 shares during the period. 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.