Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Up 5.3% – Still a Buy?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) was up 5.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $141.95 and last traded at $141.16. Approximately 17,566,656 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 31,318,535 shares. The stock had previously closed at $134.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BABA shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $100.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $104.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $97.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.81. The stock has a market cap of $332.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.84 by ($0.07). Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 12.29%. The business had revenue of $38.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.19 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BABA. LM Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $855,000. Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. bought a new position in Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,194,000. Garde Capital Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 45.5% during the fourth quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 1,696 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 27,077 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,295,000 after purchasing an additional 2,518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new stake in Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at $337,000. 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.