Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Up 0.7% – Time to Buy?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shares rose 0.7% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $101.82 and last traded at $101.59. Approximately 5,630,200 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 17,835,406 shares. The stock had previously closed at $100.91.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BABA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Barclays lifted their price target on Alibaba Group from $107.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Macquarie raised Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.63.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $93.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.82. The stock has a market cap of $248.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.83, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.41.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The specialty retailer reported $16.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $14.57. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 12.08%. The firm had revenue of $243.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $248.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.47 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 5.2% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 21,870,987 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,574,711,000 after acquiring an additional 1,074,175 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 1,392.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,125,542 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $650,043,000 after purchasing an additional 5,715,155 shares during the period. Discerene Group LP boosted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Discerene Group LP now owns 3,021,375 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $218,627,000 after purchasing an additional 529,237 shares during the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 6.9% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,789,883 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $296,062,000 after buying an additional 178,999 shares during the period. Finally, Eminence Capital LP raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 9.0% during the second quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 1,830,387 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $131,788,000 after buying an additional 150,488 shares during the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.